09/28/2020
The September work of the month is by José Clemente Orozco. One of the most influential Mexican muralists of his time, Orozco was also a remarkable draftsman and printmaker. Both his murals and printed works, like Refugees – Rear Guard, are powerful in their expressions of human strength and suffering.
Orozco worked as a newspaper illustrator in Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution. The violence he witnessed during this time profoundly affected his life and art. Unlike his contemporaries, Orozco refused to glorify the revolution and chose to depict the hardships it placed on the Mexican people. The rear guard in Orozco’s image is composed of Mexican peasants, including women and young children. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) these landless peasants and farmers were inspired to fight in the hopes of achieving political and economic freedom from what they believed was a corrupt government.
Orozco emphasizes the group’s shared identity by presenting them from behind, in a large mass. Their similar head-down posture, clothing, and manner of carrying their rifles indicates they are joined in a collective effort of great importance. Refugees – Rear Guard honors the role of civilian soldiers in the Mexican Revolution and their strength and trials in fighting for a better life.
[José Clemente Orozco (Mexican, 1883–1949). Refugees – Rear Guard, 1929. Lithograph on cream wove paper, 13 3/4 x 18 1/2 inches. Grand Rapids Art Museum, Gift of Mabel H. Perkins, 1959.2.2]
