| About Murals |
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Definition of Mural A Mural is a painting on a wall or ceiling. The main characteristic of a mural is its large scale predominantly on a permanent surface. Murals exist where people live and work and affect their daily lives. Often, the visual effects are an enticement to attract public attention. Murals can also be are an effective tool for social liberation or achieving a political goal. It is also closely related to architectural and decorative schemes. Murals can be used to emphasize or enhance interior design especially through the use of trompe l’oeil. Tromp l’oeil (pronounced tromp loy) is a painting or method of painting that creates the illusion of a three-dimensional object or spatial dimensions. Tromp l’oeil is a French term that means,“deceive the eye”.  Mural History Murals are a very ancient art form. It is found on the walls of prehistoric caves. In the Far East, mural painting began in china about 1700 BC and from there spread to Korea and Japan. An astonishing series of paintings on Buddhist themes painted in Tempera cover the walls of the Ajanta caves in India. Tempera is a technique of painting with colours made from powdered pigments mixed with water and egg yolk or casein (a protein from which cheese is made). Wall painting was also one of the most highly developed arts of ancient Egypt, the walls and ceilings of tomb chambers were decorated in tempera with figures and motifs(repeated design, shape or pattern) symbolising life in the after world. The palace at Knossos in ancient Crete was enhanced with brightly coloured fresco (painting on a wall or ceiling made by brushing watercolours onto fresh damp plaster or onto partly dry plaster. The colours lighten when dried. Paintings of flowers, animals and human figures and public buildings as well as private dwellings throughout ancient Greece are customarily decorated in tempera and encaustic (wax colours fused to a surface by heat). This tradition persisted into Hellenistic and Roman times. Particularly remarkable are the illusionist paintings of landscapes, still life and the human figure found on the walls of buildings at Pompeii and Herculaneum. In the Early Christian and Byzantine periods, basilica interiors were at first painted in tempera and fresco but were than replaced by mosaic(a picture or design made with small pieces of coloured material such as glass or tile stuck onto a surface)murals in the 4th Century. In the early 14th century fresco painting was again revived in the churches of southern Europe and it flourished through the 16th century. In the north of Europe mural painting was largely replaced by the use of stained glass windows in Gothic churches and cathedrals and by tapestry hangings on castle walls. From the 17th to the 19th century, mural paintings by such artists as the Flemish Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens, the Italian Rococo painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and the Spanish artist Francisco Goya were generally applied in oil on a large canvas. The canvas was then attached to a wall or ceiling. Murals today In the 20th century mural painting was revived by three Mexican artists, Deigo Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. They worked in various media in Mexico City and at several locations in the United States beginning in the 1920s. In general their Mural subjects are vividly coloured compositions, celebrating the liberation of the people with stylized figures and motifs. Murals today are painted in a variety of ways, using acrylic, oil or water based media. The styles can vary from abstract to realism. Murals are commissioned by local bars, function centres, hospitals, schools, families, coffee shops, churches, government and restaurants. |
