Mexico has a long tradition of muralism from the Mayans to the Colonial era, often highly political and full of social meaning.

Mexican muralism is a pictorial movement that began in the 1920s, as part of the modernization policies of the State of Mexico after the 1910 revolution. It is inspired by one purpose: to build a national identity bringing together the different sectors of Mexican society, given the deep social inequalities of the time, especially educational and cultural. ‘The Big Three’ best known Mexican muralists are David Alfaro Siqueiros, Jose Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera.  To begin with, the muralists were influenced by elements of western avant-garde art, such as expressionism (especially in Orozco), futurism (in Siqueiros) and synthetic cubism (in Rivera). They soon turned away from these, developing their own unique styles.