A Brief History Of Murals

Muralists are painters who paint art usually on ceilings or walls. The world "Mural" is translated from the French meaning of the word wall. The beauty of murals is that they often incorporate the space that the artist is painting on.

Muralists are often commissioned by many agencies.

Government Agencies

Government agencies  use murals to bring together residents and raise the profile of a city. Murals are often painted with a clear message in mind, maybe the city's history, or important landmarks or figures from the area. This can be a great community project as the mural is often painted on a building or a wall commissioned for the work and the public can view the work being done.

Churches And Convents

Churches and convents are probably the most well-known mural applications. It was during the middle ages, that churches were often adorned with decorative murals  This technique was called fresco, which when translated means fresh, and describes a method where the paint is directly applied to plaster on walls or ceilings.  Around the 4th century mosaics were favoured instead of murals, however during the 14th century the fine art of murals returned with a vengeance only to die out again the in 16th century to be replaced by stained glass and fabrics.

Industrial and Office Buildings

Many industrial and office buildings will commission a muralist to add an attractive element to their office space. This can be elaborate pieces to simple wall murals. This can be great PR for the business and can bring a human element especially to industries such as manufacturing or energy industries.

Private Work

Many celebrities will commission a muralist to create an attractive mural for their own personal residence. These can often be bedrooms or the entire house. The subject matter will often be discussed prior the muralist starting the work, as these can often be huge works.

Perhaps some of the most attractive muralist work is the Trompe o'leil. Translated this means ‘trick of the eye'. This art is truly breath tanking and involves imagery where an optical illusion is created in order to create the deception that object is in 3d.

Trompe l'oeil's origins date back before the baroque period and have often been used in churches, Greek times and roman times for instance in Pompeii Trompe l'oeil were very heavily favoured.

These days the technique is favoured in a wide range of settings. For example many buildings will commission an artist to pain an entire side of a building with a mural that makes it look like the entire side of the building has been taken away by an earthquake to reveal historical jewels inside.

Many theatre productions will also commission trompe l'oeil artists to design huge sets, that are made to look like huge cities, bridges, and other scenes that seem to come alive but are actually painted on flat surfaces.

About the Author

Neil Maycock writes articles for mural artists