Mural

Mérida’s "Mural" follows his prescription for plastic integration with its architectonic geometry and limited color scheme suitable for a modern interior. The planes and facets of the image recall both the cubist paintings he produced in Paris between 1910-14 and the influence Josef Albers had on his career in the mid-1940s; however, the distinctive angularity of the planes and the emphatic verticality also owe a debt to Mayan painting and reliefs. Mérida began to integrate Mayan forms into his work after he left Paris for Guatemala in 1914 and that influence continued for the remainder of his career.

(White, Mark Andrew. Libertad De Expresión: The Art Museum of the Americas and Cold War Politics. Oklahoma City: Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, U of Oklahoma, 2013.)