Response Paper 1

Panel Seven: Departure of Quetzalcoatl

In panel seven of The Epic of American Civilization, departure of Quetzalcoatl, Jose Clemente Orozco depicts Quetzalcoatl, a Mexican God, being exiled from his land out to sea atop a makeshift raft of evil serpents. Panel seven, and the two previous containing Quetzalcoatl, mark a transition in Orozco’s world renowned mural in Baker Library located at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. In the early panels of Orozco’s mural, he paints a picture of the pre-colonial times in Mexican history with strictly indigenous males. The entrance of Quetzalcoatl marks a major transition both in Mexican history and the color scheme of the mural. The historical shift is evident from the pre-colonial era to the Spanish colonization of Mexico. Also, the colors shift from mostly dark reds and browns to more vibrant blues and yellows. I take this color shift by Orozco to indicate a warning to the Mexican people of Quetzalcoatl’s prophecy of doom.

The stature and facial expression of Quetzalcoatl are both extremely interesting and meaningful. The slumped shoulders indicate a sense of worry and disheartenment from the Mexican God. The raised left arm serves as a warning sign toward panel eight: the prophecy, and the impending doom of the native people. Historically, this positioning is significant because panel eight depicts the arrival of Cortez, and the resulting enslavement and murdering of the indigenous people. Additionally, the deeply engraved lines on the Mexican God’s forehead depict an extreme sense of disappointment and worry. The clenched fist in his right hand evokes a sense of anger, perhaps directed at the people of Mexico for not heeding his warning.

It is interesting that Orozco places so much emphasis on hands in this panel, as well as on the mural as a whole. It seems to me that Orozco has emphasized the size, structure, and location of hands in his murals to create a focal point. In the case of Quetzalcoatl, in panel five and seven, hands are used as a warning sign along with his facial expression. In panel five, the hands are painted directly on either side of his face, and they are extremely large; thus, it demands both recognition and analysis. In that instance, Orozco suggests Quetzalcoatl’s frustration towards the Mexican people. In the earlier panels, the native people of Mexico were painted with extremely muscular and large hands, perhaps to enhance the power and strength of which these people are depicted. Large and strong hands signify masculinity, and in the case of the first few panels I believe Orozco is focusing so deeply on hands to enhance the masculinity of his characters.

In panel seven, Orozco uses an illusionistic style of art rather than an abstract portrayal. While Orozco does leave room for interpretation, he portrays Quetzalcoatl and the serpents rather precisely. There is no difficulty in acknowledging the Mexican God, as he is painted in a white robe with beaming blonde hair. In addition, the serpents with two long and sharp fangs are painted clearly. Orozco combines abstract and illusionistic art throughout the mural as a whole, but in panel seven the preciseness and clearness in which it is drawn correlates to the idea of illusionism.

Orozco’s panel seven enhances the painting’s power and meaning through its historical context. He coined the term of “the living myth of Quetzalcoatl,” which was described as “’fundamental to Orozco’s ‘depiction of the indigenous civilizations and their relationship to European culture transported to this continent in the early sixteenth century.’” (Rochfort 103) The departure of Quetzalcoatl ushers in the era of Hernan Cortez and other Spanish colonialists. The Aztec rejection of Quetzalcoatl and alliance with Cortez resulted in the overthrow of the Aztec empire and the enslavement of the native people. The resulting colonialism of Mexico by Cortez and many others was the so-called doom of the God Quetzalcoatl.

Some may question the applicability of Mexican colonialism to Dartmouth College, as well as the effectiveness of the mural as a whole. Dartmouth College’s location in the north east of the United States, and over 2,000 miles away from Mexico, lends one to question how this Mexican story of colonialism relates to a school in New England. However, colonialism from European powers occurred in both America and Mexico. Additionally, Dartmouth College, which was initially founded to educate Native Americans, ties into colonialism whether Orozco directly intended it to or not.