Murals Of The World
References

"Broadway Housing Building." Institute for Sustainable Solutions. Portland State University, n.d. Web. 01 May 2011. <http://www.pdx.edu/sustainability/broadway-housing-building>.
Darcoff, Becky. "The Vatican Museum's Rafael Rooms." Art Revealed. Becky Darcoff, n.d. Web. 17 May 2011. <http://beckydaroff.com/arthistory/raphael/raphaelrooms.html>.
Gritchen, Jeff. "Wyland finishes Earth Day gift to Long Beach." Inside SoCal.
Press-Telegram, 22 Apr 2009. Web. 11 Apr 2011. <http://www.insidesocal.com/gritchen/2009/04/wyland-finishes-earth-day-gift.html>.
Hambrick, Jennifer. "Mona Lisa facelift and condos create art and high-style housing in the Short North." Short North Gazette Sep. 2005: n. pag. Web. 13 May 2011. <http://www.shortnorth.com/MonaLisaFacelift.html>.
http://www.obamamagazine.com
http://www.seastewards.org
Hui, Feng. "Tibet on the Mural." China Daily (2008): n. pag. Web. 17 May 2011. <http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2008-02/29/content_11867944.htm>.
Kotwal, Kaizaad. "Walls That Talk: In the Short North, the painting's on the wall." Short North Gazette Jan 2005: n. pag. Web. 10 May 2011. <http://www.shortnorth.com/Murals.html>.
"Raphael Rooms (Stanze di Raffaello)." Rome.Info. Rome Info, n.d. Web. 17 May 2011. <http://www.rome.info/museums/vatican/raphael-rooms/>.
Sexias, Peter, and Penney Clark. "Murals as Monuments: Students’ Ideas about Depictions of Civilization in British Columbia." American Journal of Education. (2004): 146-169. Print.
"The Artist." Wyland.com. Wyland Worldwide, n.d. Web. 12 May 2011.
<http://www.wyland.com/about/the_artist/1>.
The Graham School's Mural Project. Graham School, 2010. Web. 15 April 2011. <http://tgsmuralproject.blogspot.com/>.
"The Sistine Chapel." Art And The Bible. Art And The Bible, n.d. Web. 14 May 2011. <http://www.artbible.info/art/sistine-chapel.html>.
"Tibetan Buddhist Painting." I Tours Tibet. I Tours Tibet, 2008. Web. 17 May 2011. <http://www.itourstibet.com/tibet-discovery/tibet-painting.htm>.
The History/Culture Behind 'Le Stanze di Raffaello'

Raphael (Raffaello in italian) Sanzio was one of the most talented painters of the Italian Renaissance, which spread throughout Europe from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. Raphael was born in Urbino, itself a major arts mecca, and learned the craft he would become renown for through a series of apprenticeships. First to his father, who was himself employed as a painter at the ducal court of Montefeltro, and upon his death, as an apprentice to the Italian painter Perugino.
He received his first commission as a painter independent of any apprenticeship ties in 1499, when he was but 16, to paint what he would title "The Banner Of The Holy Trinity", but the famous commission this exhibit shall explore is that of the "Stanze di Raffaello", or in english: "The Raphael Rooms" which Raphael began in 1508, and would work on laboriously until his death in 1520.
In 1508, Raphael was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint the interiors of four rooms which would form the Pope's living quarters (successive Popes continued to live in 'Raphael's Rooms' until 1585). Today however, the rooms, which are on the third floor of the Pontifical Palace in Vatican City, form the public space of the papal apartments, while the Pope's actual living quarters are off limits to the public.
This is actually a blessing in that it allows more people to see this work of art which many would say rivals the work of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel (ironically, the work of these two great masters occured during relatively the same period, as both pieces were commissioned by Pope Julius II).
On the subject of The Sistine Chapel, it is safe to say that these two masterpieces could be classified as either religious, as the subjects/themes of these works are clearly religious in nature and even the locations themselves (in a chapel, and the Pope's residence) support a religious classification, or historical, as both murals chronicle such an important era and truly revolutionized painting (at least that of frescoes) forever. However, for the purpose of this exhibit, and for the purpose of not omitting one these two spectacular murals, one has been placed into the religious section (The Sistine Chapel) and one into the historical section (Raphael's Rooms).
The History/Culture Behind 'Man, Controller Of The Universe'


Political murals can be classified as such because of three criteria. They can, like the Obama Mural previously discussed, inspire support in a politician or a political movement (think of the power a mural of Che Guevara would have), they may be critical of a politican, such a famous Nicaraguan mural depicting a smiling Ronald Reagan holding a shotgun and standing on the shoulders of an obviously impoverished Nicaraguan migrant worker, or they can like Diego's infamous 'Man, Controller Of The Universe' inspire political controversy.
The aforementioned mural was comissioned in 1932 by Nelson Rockefeller who wanted to have a large impressive mural painted on the ground floor level of the Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York, USA. Wait a minute, Didn't the last slide say that the mural in question was in Mexico City? Yes it did, and it did so because there are two incarnations of this timeless mural. Diego was originally commissioned with the goal of creating a mural that would show "Man at the crossroads, looking with hope and high vision to the choosing of a new and better future". However, when the mural was finally revealed to the Rockefellers in 1933, a small portion of it contained a portrait of the Russian revolutionary and creator of the Soviet Communist Party: Vladimir Lenin (see above right). Despite requests from the family paying him, Diego refused to alter his art and left Lenin on there for the world to see. The Rockefellers covered and later destroyed the controversial mural, but not before Diego's apprentice Lucienne Bloch managed to photograph the mural. These photographs allowed Lenin (upon the destruction of the original) to repaint his work (albeit at a diminutive measure) at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, where it remains to this day known to the world under a new title: "Man, Controller Of The Universe".
Sistine Chapel's Comparison: Jesus vs. Moses


While it would be impossible to examine all aspects of the Sistine Chapel, even seeing it in person is overwhelming, there is an interesting series of murals at play that lend support to one of the reasons for religious murals: to inspire nonbelivers to believe or at least respect a religion. There is no doubt that the Sistine Chapel, which is the most prominent chapel in the Apostolic Palace (the official residence of the Pope) is a masterpiece made of many masterpieces. It was the work of many artists and commissioned by a handful of Popes during their reign. The chapel derives its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored the building's capella in 1483 and invited painters Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio,Cosimo Rosselli, and Pietro Perugino to come decorate the walls with a series of religious frescoes. One of the walls depicts a series of scenes from Jesus' life here on Earth, while the wall parallel depicts a series of scenes from Moses'. This strange comparision and juxtaposition of Jesus to Moses could be coincidental, but according to Artbible.com, the comparision is meant to "visualize the continuity between the old and new covenant, Moses' laws and Jesus' teachings."
The ceiling, which is by far the most well known feature of the Sistine Chapel began as a painting of a star spangled sky by Piero Matteo d'Amelia, but in 1508 Pope Julius II Della Rovere commissioned the famed sculptor Michelangelo to paint the twelve apostles and a few ornaments on the ceiling. Michelangelo's vision for the ceiling soon surpassed the commission and thus today we are left with the brillant ceiling seen on the preceding page which contains over 300 figures! Michelangelo was commissioned yet again in 1535 (he was in his sixties) to paint the altar wall with what would become known as 'The Last Judgement'. This world famous mural was comissioned by Pope Clement VII, and upon his death, Pope Paul III Farnese. 'The Last Judgement' was allegedly meant to instill piety and respect for God's powers in those that view this depiction of the second coming of Christ and the Apocalypse.
Another interesting facet of the Sistine Chapel was that Raphael (an artist covered in prior parts of this exhibit) was commissioned to create six large tapestries, which would be hung from the walls during ceremonies of particular importance. Of these tapestries, three showed events from the Life Of St. Peter and three showed events from the Life of St. Paul. Regrettably, these tapestries were looted in the Sack of Rome in 1527, and scattered around Europe. However, the majesty of these tapestries can still be viewed today because the Vatican managed to regain some tapestries and reproductions of those they could not.
The following page of this exhibit shows three frescoes from both Jesus' wall and Moses' wall.
The History/Culture Behind 'The Mona Lisa'


According to Shortnorth.com, a website about the neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio that this mural appears in, the 'Mona Lisa' is probably the most well known mural in this neighborhood, partly because of it's iconic status in the art world, but also because it has been in the Short North neighborhood since 1986 when it was originally painted by Brian Clemons. It has since been retouched twice, once by the original artist in 2001, and then in 2005 by Curtis Goldstein, who had this to say about 'The Mona Lisa': "if it had been the Mona Lisa straight up, it wouldn't have been as interesting, they turned it on its side, and made it fun. The Short North is a mixture of old and new, so taking the Mona Lisa and giving it a new twist is an interesting blend of old and new"
The original mural (in 1986) was the vision of Chris Steele (the then president) of Citizens for a Better Skyline, a non-profit devoted pedestrian friendly development and historic preservation based in Columbus, Ohio. The mural was funded by The Ohio Arts Council, The Greater Columbus Arts Council, the Wood's Company (which owns the building the mural appears on), and the non-profit aforementioned.
Brian Clemons, a graduate of Columbus College of Art and Design, is the president and artistic director of the Optic Nerve Art Corporation, which he founded 20 years ago. According to the Optic Nerve website: they are a full service art production company which employs muralists, fine artists, craftpeople, and similar creatives, all of whom endeavor to provide the world with anything from murals to sculptures, from silk screen printing to dimensional signage.
The Origin Of Murals


Murals may well have been the one of the first works of art mankind ever created, or at least one of the few that endured long enough for future generations to discover. Exactly how long murals, in some incarnation, have been a part of society is debatable, but most scholars maintain that 32,000 years ago, when prehistoric man created images of horses and lions on the walls of Chauvet cave in what is now France, they were creating what would become the oldest preserved piece of art in human history.
Since those days of murals made with crushed colorful minerals, murals have only increased in complexity. The image above left is one akin to what you might find in murals early prepubscent stage in the Upper Paleolithic times. While there exists a plethora of cave paintings similar to those found in France that an interested party could speak on for hours, the next developments of murals occured with the rise and fall of several ancient civilizations in Greece, Rome, Pompeii, and also wall adornments from both the Mayan and Aztec civilizations.
Murals saw a large upswing in the renaissance era with artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo being commisioned to paint large masterpieces in both public and private areas. More recently the United States exploded with murals during the period following the great depression in the 1930's and 1940's when Franklin D. Roosevelt, as part of his "New Deal" agenda established the Federal Art Project which lowered the unemployment rate by commissioning unemployed artists to paint over 1,000 murals in public government facilities across the nation.
Shortnorth.com states that there exists a blessed dichotomy which continues to evolve in the world of murals where new ones are continually being commissioned and created while old ones are constantly being rediscovered and restored, thus ensuring that murals will live on indefinitely, so for this reason it is important that we, as cultured citizens in the cities these murals adorn, begin to understand them and the reason for their existance.
The purpose of this exhibit is not to offer a complete history of murals, or identify the ten most famous murals, or any idea akin to those. The purpose of this exhibit is to serve as a foot in the door for those new to the world of murals, to open the viewers minds and eyes to a style of art that they may see on a daily basis but not be familar with. The format of this exhibit is to offer cross sections of murals that fall into one of five classifications: Recreations of famous artwork, Political Murals, Environmental Murals, Historical Murals, and Religious Murals. This system of classification of murals is not a definitive one, and undoubtedly there exists other classifications which could be examined, but those five themes often found in murals are the ones upon which this exhibit is based.
The History/Culture Behind 'Peace And War'
Peace And War was painted in 1896 at the Library of Congress by an American artist by the name of Julius Garibaldi Melchers (although he went by Gari Melchers) and was a two piece mural. Each panel of this dual mural juxtaposed the artist's interpretation of what War looks like with that of Peace.
War (seen on the previous page) portrays a chieftain of a primitive culture returning home with his fellow warriors from a successful but dearly won battle. He is crowned with a wreath of laurel and sites proudly astride a magnificent white horse. Warriors carry a roughly constructed stretcher on which they are bringing home the body of a fallen comrade for burial in his native soil.

Peace (seen above) shows a religious procession in which the inhabitants of a village have come to the border of a grove bearing the image of their guardian goddess. The villagers carry various objects and lead a sacrificial bull to be offered as memorials to the goddess in thanks for peace.
Art ran in Gari Melcher's blood, his father was the German-born American sculptor Julius Theodore Melchers so it comes as no surprise that he achieved great artistic sucess. Despite being born in America, he studied in Paris and Holland, and has a list of recognitions and achievements from nations the world over and his most prominent works of art besides the above mentioned murals are as follows: The Supper at Emmaus, The Family, and Mother and Child.
Peace And War

"Peace & War" - A Mural by: Gari Melchers
in 1896 at the Library Of Congress, Washington DC. USA.
The History/Culture Behind Tibetan Wall Paintings

Tibetan wall paintings, which most historians agree began as simplistic rock paintings of animals and birds similar to those found in many other regions of the world, transformed completely with the advent of Buddism.
Since this transformation, Tibetan wall paintings, take a variety of forms and thus can be single works of art like those seen on the left (which appear courtesy of Maciej Wojtkowiak) or expansive rooms/walls full of many smaller individual images similar to the room seen on the preceding page.
One interesting facet of Tibetan wall paintings is that because a majority of these works of art contain images of the Buddha and also appear in monasteries, these elaborate murals are typically treated with a greater amount of reverence than other religious murals which may simply be viewed as works of art, and not divine images of a culture's religious figure.

According to Itourstibet, a travel agency designed for photographers interested in Tibetan art, Tibetan wall paintings typically contain a mixture of rich content combining Tibet's religion, politics, history, economy, culture, and social life.
These murals tend to use cold and dark colors (although there are always exceptions to such rules) such as black, dark blue, mauve, dark grey, brown, and white. They also tend to be drawn with especially plain lines; simple, rough and sparse outlines filled with the aforementioned colors.
Tibetan Wall Paintings

Prayer Hall at Deden Tsuglagkhang Monastery
Covered With Tibetan Wall Paintings
The Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel,
A room decorated with murals
from a variety of artists, including
both Michaelangelo and Raphael
in Vatican City, Italy
Le Stanze di Raffaello

Le Stanze Di Raffaello is a series of 4 rooms
painted by the famed painter Raphael & a group
of assistants in Vatican City depicting a number
of scenes both religous and nonreligious between
1509-1520.
Portland State University's 'Think Green' Mural

While Wyland's work with the 'Whaling Wall' series is an obvious example of an environmental mural with a definitive purpose/cause: i.e. that of marine life preservation, and even his 'Earth; The Blue Planet' mural previously examined advocates the importance of the oceans, the cause behind a mural may not be so clearly defined as seen in this specific piece which appears locally here at Portland State University. While this piece, which for lack of information I have titled "PSU's Think Green" Mural, is not technically a mural (it's actually a fabric scrim attached to the underside of a sky bridge which connects both Portland State's Smith Memorial Student Union and Cramer Hall) it serves the same purpose as a mural in being a large piece of art in a public area which delivers a message.
On a campus known for "Being Green" (and for more reasons than the fact that that's one of the school colors), where there are more bicycle racks than parking spaces, where such sustainable alternatives as low flow fixtures on sinks, increased wall insulation provide a 51% and 53% efficiency increase for both electricity and natural gas usage respectively, and where ecoroofs have been installed on several roofs to reduce stormwater runnoff, which contributes to urban water pollution, this mural delivers a fitting message indeed.
The History/Culture Behind The Artist Named Wyland
The man who has been hailed a "Marine Michelangelo" by national newspaper USA Today is actually known to the world as Robert Wyland (although as an artist, he simply goes by Wyland) and was born in 1956 in Michigan. In 1976 he graduated from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit Michigan with a scholarship for painting and sculptures. Since then, his contributions to the world have only grown as today he has the distinction of being one of America's most unique creative influences and also a leading advocate for marine resource conservation. The non-profit organization he created in 1991, The Wyland Foundation, has devoted itself to promoting, protecting, and preserving the World's ocean, waterways, and marine life. This foundation has accomplished that since its inception through the encouragement of environmental awareness through educational programs, public art, and community events. In addition to overseeing this non-profit organization, Wyland has also created Wyland Worldwide (a corporation with the same goals), Wyland Galleries (where one may purchase his private work), the Wyland Store (selling sustainable products), Wyland Records (advocating for marine life through music), Wyland Art Studios (where he inspires others to create art), Wyland Grille (a brand of restaurants designed to convey Wyland's love for the ocean through quality food derived from sustainable resources), and Wyland Cellars (an offshoot of Laguna Canyon Winery, which produces a line of quality wines featuring Wyland created labels, in which a portion of all proceeds get donated to the Wyland Foundation).
As you can see he is a busy person, but he still found time (as you saw from the proceeding video) to paint the world's largest world (it's in the Guiness Book Of World Records) while in Long Beach, California retouching a 1992 whale and marine life mural he had done on the sides of the Long Beach Arena. While there, he asked the owners if he could paint a mural on the roof as a tribute on Earth Day in 2009. The owners said yes, not knowing that Wyland's mural would be an enormous Earth measuring 2.8 acres!


The Whaling Walls series of murals (three of which appear above) were a tremendous undertaking for Wyland. His goal (which he set for himself on his 25th birthday in 1981) was to paint 100 life sized marine life murals advocating for marine life conservation, and he accomplished just that when he painted his hundredth Whaling Wall 'Hands Across The Ocean' in Bejing, China on the occasion of the 2008 Olympics. These 100 murals (of which some have unfortunately been removed, vandalized, or simply deteriorated) span twelve countries on four different continents, and are viewed by an estimated one billion people every year.
For a full list of Wyland's Whaling Walls, and to find one near you, visit:
Earth: The Blue Planet
A video documenting the creation of the largest earth ever created (in any format: drawing, painting, sculpture, etc)
which was painted on the roof of the Long Beach Arena by marine adovocate Wyland on Earth Day in 2009.
Man At The Crossroads/Man, Controller Of The Universe

Man, Controller Of The Universe
A mural in Mexico City, Mexico
Painted by: Diego Rivera in 1934
The History/Culture Behind "The Obama Mural"
Political murals have always had the power to inspire, and this mural, painted in support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign does just that. This is evident from both the video showing the creation of the mural and also the multitude of supporters photographed below at the murals unveiling on September 28th, 2008. Obama ran for (and won) the presidential race in 2008, and the messages of his campaign, the hope contained within them, and the man behind those messages inspired a multitude of volunteers to paint this mural before he'd even become president. A similar occurance happened in July of 2008 in Trumbull County, Ohio, where Obama supporters painted a 20 foot mural on the front of the family barn.

- Murals Of The World Introduction
- Table Of Contents
- The Origin Of Murals
- Types Of Murals (Chart 1)
- The Mona Lisa
- The History/Culture Behind 'The Mona Lisa'
- Cliff Dwellers (The Benson Mural)
- The History/Culture Behind 'Cliff Dwellers'
- The Obama Mural
- The History/Culture Behind "The Obama Mural"
- Man At The Crossroads/Man, Controller Of The Universe
- The History/Culture Behind 'Man, Controller Of The Universe'
- Earth: The Blue Planet
- The History/Culture Behind The Artist Named Wyland
- Portland State University's 'Think Green' Mural
- Peace And War
- The History/Culture Behind 'Peace And War'
- Le Stanze di Raffaello
- Room of Heliodorus (Mural Gallery)
- The History/Culture Behind 'Le Stanze di Raffaello'
- The Sistine Chapel
- Sistine Chapel's Comparison: Jesus vs. Moses
- Jesus vs. Moses Continued
- Tibetan Wall Paintings
- The History/Culture Behind Tibetan Wall Paintings
- Special Thanks & Contact Information
- References













