Orozco has taken this legend as the theme of his frescoes. Planning his epic of American
civilization in two parts, the first representing the aboriginal culture and the second symbolizing
the elements introduced by the white man, Orozco adapted his scheme to the structure of the
room, the west wing of which contains the pre-Columbian, the east wing the post-Columbian,
parts of the project.

The work is an epic interpretation of the constructive and destructive forces which have
moulded the patterns of life on this continent. Choosing not to confine himself to the literal
representation of historical incident, Orozco has concentrated vastly larger meaning into pictorial
symbols. The two main sections, physically separated by the division of the room, are bound
together like the different movements of a symphony by the closely related development of
major and minor themes--themes of idea, of color, of form.

The full significance of the separate panels does not appear except in relation to the
composition as a whole, and the complex orchestration of the work with its contrasts and
repetitions must be studied with constant reference to the thematic analogies between the two
main divisions. Obviously, anything like a complete analysis of the minute details of composition
is not possible in a brief descriptive sketch. In any abbreviated consideration of these murals,
one must remember Orozco's frequently reiterated injunctions that no single panel is separately
significant and that any given interpretation in words is a restriction of the meaning of the
mural to the experience of a single person. This outline, then, will serve only to suggest the
general theme of the project and the legendary background which provides the artist's symbols.

3. AZTEC WARRIORS 4. COMING OF QUETZALCOATL 5. PRE-COLUMBIAN GOLDEN AGE 6. THE DEPARTURE OF QUETZALCOATL 7. THE PROPHECY

(the long wall, west wing)