Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Murals
Famous muralists
Rufino Tamayo, Diego
Rivera, Davíd Alfaro
Siqueiros, and José
Clemente Orozco painted
their huge murals on the
walls of the second and
third floors of the
building facing the
courtyard. The contrast
between the traditional
Art Deco interior and the
political murals painted
with unusually bright
colors heightens the
dramatic tone in
the space.
%
Courtyard
The four-story court-
yard is light, airy, and
dramatic with red marble
columns and a high, four-
domed ceiling
(above)
.
Key
First Floor
Second Floor
Third Floor
Fourth Floor
&
Theater
The theater has a
magnificent stage curtain
made by Tiffany & Co. of
New York. The depiction
of the Valley of Mexico
on the curtain is formed
with a million pieces of
opalescent glass. The
stunning crystal ceiling
depicts Apollo and the
nine muses on Mount
Olympus.
Mural Controversy
Diego Rivera, an
avowed communist,
was commissioned to
paint a mural for the
Rockefeller Center, New
York. Nelson Rockefeller,
a staunch capitalist,
approved Rivera's
preliminary drawings
but when Rivera later
included a portrait of
Lenin in the mural,
Rockefeller insisted that
Lenin be removed.
Rivera refused, and the
mural was destroyed.
Rivera reproduced the
mural on the third floor
of the
palacio
with the
title
Man, Controller of
the Universe
.
(
Museo Nacional
*
Art Exhibitions
de Arquitectura
This museum occupies
the fourth floor of the
palacio
. Changing exhi-
bits feature various asp-
ects of Mexico City, and
occasionally, international
architecture.
)
Ballet Folklórico
The second and third
floors have several rooms
and galleries that host
international travelling art
exhibitions. An excep-
tional recent exhibition
featured four centuries of
European masterpieces
in oil
(below)
.
de México
Folk dances from many
regions of Mexico are
presented on Wednesday
and Sunday evenings by
the excellent Ballet
Folklórico. Colorful costu-
mes, lively music, choreo-
graphy, and stage sets
offer fine entertainment.
21
Construction of the Palacio de Bellas Artes began in 1904, was
interrupted by the Mexican Revolution, and completed in 1934
