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Mexico’s National History Museum is housed within the Chapultepec Castle, the construction of which began in 1785. The castle itself is a national historical treasure with its stained glass windows and murals. Several of the 20 halls of the National Museum of History (MNH), distributed over 2 stories, lodge the mural paintings related to diverse national history themes captured by artists Jorge Gonzalez Camarena, David Alfaro Siqueiros y Juan O’ GormanMexican Muralism emerged after the Revolution to document and to narrate Mexican people history, by depicting quotidian scenes, historical events, politic and social struggles, religious and cultural matters, as well as to portrait heroes and anonymous characters.

David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros was a Mexican social realist painter, known for his large murals in fresco. He, Diego Rivera, and José Clemente Orozco established Mexican Muralism. He was also a Stalinist and member of the Mexican Communist Party who participated in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Leon Trotsky in May 1940.

In 1957 he began work on 4,500-square-foot (420 m2) government commission for Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City; Del porfirismo a la Revolución was his biggest mural yet. (The painting is known in English as From the Dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz to the Revolution or The Revolution Against the Porfirian Dictatorship)

David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896 – 1974) Self portrait

Siqueiros painted De Porfirismo a la Revolucion in a dedicated gallery of the museum between 1957 and 1966.

De Porfirismo a la Revolucion (4.46x76.89m) Detail

The gallery was too small for his vision, so Siqueiros literally created more walls by designing a curving structure to paint on. As a result, the mural stretches and snakes its way through the space, pulling the viewer into the scene.

David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896 – 1974) Details (4.46 m x 76.89m)

The title is usually conveyed in English as From the Dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz to the Revolution. José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico for nearly 35 years — years that were characterized by national stability and economic growth but also by inequality and repression.

David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896 – 1974) De Porfirismo a la Revolucion (4.46x76.89m) Detail

Porfirio Díaz sits in comfort watching women dance. He is surrounded by los científicos, his technocrat advisors, and his foot rests on the Mexican Constitution.

David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896 – 1974) De Porfirismo a la Revolucion (4.46x76.89m) Detail

David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896 – 1974) De Porfirismo a la Revolucion (4.46x76.89m) Detail

David Alfaro Siqueiros(1896 – 1974) De Porfirismo a la Revolucion (4.46x76.89m) Detail

On the far left of the mural, the bodies of those killed fighting the injustice of the dictatorship stretch into the horizon.

On the far left of the mural, the bodies of those killed fighting the injustice of the dictatorship stretch into the horizon.

The revolution against the Porfirian dictatorship; Miners' Strike in Cananea, 1906 (detail)

The people square off with the elite, struggling for control of the Mexican flag

The revolution against the Porfirian dictatorship; Miners' Strike in Cananea, 1906 (detail)

Some of the workers carry the body of a comrade who has been killed and march toward the ruling class. Anarquistas: Ricardo Flores Magon marching alongside Mikhail Bakunin and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon)

David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896 – 1974) De Porfirismo a la Revolucion Detail

As the mural curves toward the back wall, the people rise up against the ruling elite. They wear typical zapatista clothing, showing that they are followers of the revolutionary Emiliano Zapata.

David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896 – 1974) De Porfirismo a la Revolucion Detail

Soldier of the Revolution (Detail Study for "Del porfirismo a la Revolución" mural in Castillo de Chapultepec)

"Del porfirismo a la Revolución" mural in Castillo de Chapultepec (detail)

Siqueiros concludes the scene somewhat abruptly — in the upper right corner of the final panel, he shows Porfirio Díaz brandishing a dagger and thus revealing his “true” nature.

David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896 – 1974) De Porfirismo a la Revolucion (4.46x76.89m) Details

Paseo de la Reforma is a wide avenue that runs in a straight line, cutting diagonally across Mexico City. It was designed by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig in the 1860s and modeled after the great boulevards of Europe, such as Vienna's Ringstrasse or the Champs-Élysées in Paris. It was Emperor Maximilian's wish to directly link his Imperial residence, Chapultepec Castle, with the National Palace in the city center.

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