Abraham Joel Tobias
Abraham Joel Tobias was an American painter and muralist who experimented with durable materials, including ethyl-silicate paint for outdoor work.
Painter
David Alfaro Siqueiros
David Alfaro Siqueiros was a Mexican muralist who used pyroxylin, automotive coatings, and other industrial materials in dynamic public paintings.
David Alfaro Siqueiros quick facts
Siqueiros’s quick facts connect Mexican muralism with industrial paint, rigid panels, experimental application methods, and large architectural surfaces.
| Full name | José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros |
|---|---|
| Born | 1896 · Camargo, Chihuahua, Mexico |
| Died | January 6, 1974 · Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Movements | Mexican Muralism |
| Paint types | Pyroxylin paint · Lacquer paint · Oil paint · Acrylic paint · Enamel paint |
| Other media | — |
| Other materials | — |
| Painting surfaces | Painting Board · Wood · Fabric · Concrete · Plaster |
| Painting methods | Large-scale mural painting, spray equipment, poured paint, experimental industrial techniques, and unconventional supports |
| Common subjects | Revolution, labor, political conflict, Mexican history, public monuments, and social struggle |
| Notable works | Collective Suicide · Proletarian Victim · La marcha de la Humanidad · Del porfirismo a la revolución |
Sources: Museum of Modern Art, Blanton Museum: Cuauhtémoc, pyroxylin, MoMA: Collective Suicide, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura, Harvard Art Museums: oil and pyroxylin on panel, Getty/UNAM conservation study: nitrocellulose lacquer and acrylics, and Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil: Siqueiros and the American Artists, pyroxylin and acrylic.
Paint types used by David Alfaro Siqueiros
Siqueiros used pyroxylin, an industrial paint, on rigid supports and in murals, experimenting with airbrushes, pouring, and large-scale application.
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Lacquer paint
The Smithsonian records pyroxylin, a nitrocellulose lacquer, on Masonite in Autorretrato (El Coronelazo). A MoMA publication documents pyroxylin applied to cement in the mural Portrait of the Bourgeoisie. These examples show Siqueiros using an industrial lacquer both on a portable panel and in public mural work.
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Oil paint
SFMOMA catalogs Penitenciaria (1930) as oil on canvas, while Colombia’s Banco de la República records Urbanismo as oil on wood. These works document an oil practice across textile and wooden supports, distinct from the pyroxylin lacquer he used for experimental murals.
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Acrylic paint
LACMA records acrylic on board in Landscape in Red (1969) and acrylic with oil in The Vow (1963). These works document Siqueiros using acrylic as a named medium, both alone and with oil. The catalog records distinguish these paintings from his pyroxylin and enamel experiments.
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Enamel paint
MoMA identifies Ethnography (1939) as enamel on board. This object record documents a separately named industrial coating within Siqueiros’s broader material experimentation. Enamel should not be conflated with the nitrocellulose lacquer in his murals or with the acrylic and oil recorded for other works.
Sources: Smithsonian: Autorretrato (El Coronelazo); Whitney: Our Present Image, pyroxylin on fiberglass; SFMOMA: Penitenciaria, oil on canvas; Banco de la República: Urbanismo, oil on wood; LACMA: Landscape in Red, acrylic; LACMA: The Vow, acrylic and oil; MoMA: Ethnography, enamel on board.
Painting surfaces used by David Alfaro Siqueiros
The documented supports include painting board and wood; the rows below connect each surface to works by David Alfaro Siqueiros through collection records.
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Painting Board
Siqueiros used rigid board for painted works including the Smithsonian’s Autorretrato (El Coronelazo) on Masonite and LACMA’s acrylic paintings on board. These supports differ from canvas and from the cement surfaces used for murals. The named board types should be preserved where collection records specify them.
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Wood
Colombia’s Banco de la República records Siqueiros’s Urbanismo as oil on wood. This rigid support documents a panel painting distinct from his canvas works and industrial murals. The entry relies on a direct collection record for the support rather than inferring wood from the medium.
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Fabric
SFMOMA catalogs Penitenciaria (1930) as oil on canvas. Canvas is a textile support used for a portable painting, unlike the cement and plaster surfaces of Siqueiros’s architectural murals. This specific record documents a fabric-based support within his wider practice. The catalogue specifies canvas, a textile support, for this portable painting.
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Concrete
Siqueiros painted directly on cement and concrete in mural projects, including Portrait of the Bourgeoisie. MoMA’s documentation describes pyroxylin lacquer applied to the architectural surface, distinct from portable Masonite and canvas paintings. These site-specific supports were part of his public mural practice.
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Plaster
Siqueiros also worked directly on plaster in architectural murals, where the wall becomes the support for a large public composition. Institutional documentation distinguishes these built surfaces from portable panels and canvas. The entry is limited to mural work documented by museum and cultural heritage sources.
Sources: Museum of Modern Art, Blanton Museum: Cuauhtémoc, pyroxylin, MoMA: Collective Suicide, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura, Harvard Art Museums: oil and pyroxylin on panel.
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