Top 10 Greatest & Most Famous Mexican Paintings of All Time

Today, we will share with you the Top 10 Greatest & Most Famous Mexican Paintings of All Time.

One of the oldest art forms is paintings. It has existed since our ancestors first started producing charcoal creations on cave walls. Countless generations of artists have left their mark over the millennia. Accordingly, many great artworks have succeeded in transcending time and culture to be revered around the globe. And Mexico is a country rich with famous Mexican sculptures, great culture, traditional Mexican art, and artists.

So, now we share the top 10 most remarkable and important paintings by famous Mexican artists today.

TOP 10: Echo of a Scream

David Alfaro Siqueiros created the great painting ‘Echo of Scream’ in 1937. It is Siqueiros’s iconic painting, conceived in 1937 before he started working against Francisco Franco’s fascist dictatorship. The event representing the painting is the aftermath of war and the trauma of human loss. This painting represents the horror of the Spanish civil war.

Accordingly, here, screaming helpless children amid the destruction of warfare represents humanity. Besides, the repeated large, detached crying child’s head depicts the pain of unseen victims. The dark tone also adds a somber note to the ugly surroundings. Furthermore, the artist was a Mexican who fought in Spain against the Fascists and their Nazi backers.

TOP 9: Three People

Rufino Tamayo was one of the modern Mexican painters. Certainly, one of the best Mexican painters of the 20th century, who was born in 1899. He lived a long life as an artist and wrestler until 1991. All the popular movements of the time influenced him for the arts. For example, cubism, impressionism, and fauvism. But, he kept his works distinctly Mexican in favor.

His masterpiece, Three-People, depicts a man, a woman, and an androgynous figure. The artist used his rough surface texture in the painting. To increase the splendor of his artwork, Tamayo used vibrant shades of purple, orange, and yellow mixtures. The Three People painting is definitely an incredible creation of Rufino Tamayo’s.

TOP 8: Inn of the Dawn Horse (Self-Portrait)

Leonora Carrington was a British-born Mexican artist, surrealist painter, and novelist. You can see many features in this Self-Portrait. Two walls meet at a corner. You may see a ceiling, a tiled floor, and an ornately curtained window that reveals a lush: green forest view and a white horse galloping in the distance.

The white horse gives an idea of freedom and liberty. Also, Leonora Carrington is seated on a chair in the foreground with a lactating hyena on her right. It represents an intrusion of the wild into a domestic space. Additionally, there is a floating white rocking horse above the head of Carrington. This amazing painting is currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

TOP 7: Detroit Industry Murals

One of Detroit’s most amazing artistic treasures is the inspiring fresco murals. It is known as ‘Detroit Industry Murals’ and is currently at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The famous artist Diego Rivera receives a commission to paint twenty-seven frescoes. So, he journeys to New York from Detroit. Moreover, he created two large murals on the North and South walls. They depict the laborers working at Ford Motor Company’s River Rouge Plant. Other panels also depict advances made in various scientific fields.

Accordingly, Rivera completed the 27-panel work in eleven months, from April 1932 – March 1933. Famous artists considered it the finest example of Mexican mural art in the United States. And, of course, the artist thought it was the best work of his career. So, it holds the 7th position in our list of the Top 10 Greatest & Most Famous Mexican Paintings of All Time.

TOP 6: The Broken Column

Frida Kahlo is a famous Mexican self-portrait artist and wife of Diego Rivera. She portrayed herself in most of her works, as in this painting, ‘The Broken Column.’ The symbolism in the painting represents her pain. That’s how Kahlo is in a constant period of liminality due to her accident, where her freedom is in question.

However, this painting looks pretty and strong. Although she depends on a corset to live, she conveys a message of spiritual triumph. Accordingly, the painting is unique and motivational to everyone who sees it.

TOP 5: Man at the Crossroads

‘The Man at the Crossroads,’ a fresco by Diego Rivera. He was born in Mexico on December 8, 1886. Most of his artworks are politically influenced. ‘Man of the crossroads’ was displayed in the center of the Rockefeller Plaza, New York. It showed the aspect of contemporary social and scientific culture. And also, there was three-paneled artwork. The center panel depicted a worker controlling machinery. And the other two panels represented socialism and capitalism.

TOP 4: La Calavera Catrina

La Calavera Catrina is a 1910-1913 zinc etching by Jose Guadalupe Posada. Jose is not only a printmaker but also a cartoon illustrator and lithographer. The image depicts a female skeleton dressed only in a hat. Also, her chapeau en attende is related to European styles of the early 20th century. People offered her a satirical portrait of Mexican natives. Posada felt those natives are like people who aspire to European aristocratic traditions in the pre-revolution era. Still, the painting became an icon of the Mexican Dia de Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

TOP 3: Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird

Frida Kahlo painted this famous artwork in 1940. Just like most paintings, this is also a self-portrait. She is mainly known for her life struggles, especially the bad things that happened to her. Due to that, she used self-portraits to reduce her stress and have her voice be heard. In the painting, the hummingbird symbolizes good luck, and the monkey symbolizes evil. You can see the bleeding of her neck to illustrate her marriage life. The butterflies symbolize rebirth.

TOP 2: Our Lady of Guadalupe

The painting, Our Lady of Guadalupe, is a Catholic title. It shows a venerated image on a cloak enshrined within the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Indeed, the work has become a national symbol of Mexico. And it has made the Basilica the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world.

TOP 1: The Two Fridas

We previously added two paintings by Frida Kahlo. But, this list will never be completed without the painting, Two Fridas. Of course, Frida Kahlo is the most famous Mexican artist and one of the greatest artists in self-portraits. She’s a Mexican female artist disabled in a male-dominated environment. The collapses in her life are based on this creation.

An example is her marriage, divorce, and re-marriage. As you can see, it is a double self-portrait. Frida, on the left, is wearing a white European dress with her heart torn and bleeding. Similarly, Frida, on the right, is wearing a traditional Mexican dress with her heart still whole. The painting, Two Fridas, tops our list of the Top 10 Greatest & Most Famous Mexican Paintings of All Time.

What are the Most Famous Mexican Paintings?

Below is our list of the Top 10 Greatest & Most Famous Mexican Artists Paintings of All Time for your quick reference, and we hope you may find within yourself the richness and authenticity of these Mexican paintings.

1. The Two Fridas
2. Our Lady of Guadalupe
3. Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird
4. La Calavera Catrina
5. Man at the Crossroads
6. The Broken Column
7. Detroit Industry Murals
8. Inn of the Dawn Horse (Self-Portrait)
9. Three People
10. Echo of a Scream

Also, if you like to read more Culture, Art, and Lifestyle research-based content, or other inspiring stories, feel free to check our other lists, including the Top 10 Best and Most Inspiring People in Indonesia and the Top 10 Most Inspiring German Women Who Influenced the World. Enjoy!