A monumental mural, once painted over by Chilean dictator Pinochet, has been reemerging after years of restoration work.
The work was created by Chilean artist Julio Escámez and commissioned by Mayor Eduardo Contreras Mella to commemorate the victory of President Salvador Allende. Beginning in 1969, the massive mural, titled “Beginning and End”, at the capital’s City Hall was completed in 1972. It was a popular success, earning praise from Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda.
However, just a year later, the Allende government was overthrown by Augustus Pinochet in a military coup. Ruling with an iron hand, Pinochet ordered the covering up of the mural, which he saw as a symbol of Allende. The mural was subsequently covered in 12 layers of white paint and remained so for decades. Julio Escámez was also forced to leave Chile and spent the rest of his life in exile.
In the 2020s, the current mayor of Chile, Camilo Benavente, started endeavours to rediscover the lost mural. It was only in 2021 that researchers were unable to locate the mural under layers of paint at the Salon de Honor. The University of Arts worked alongside the UPA (the heritage unit of the municipality of Chile) to restore “Beginning and End“. For a 452-square-foot work covered under 12 layers of white paint, this was no easy work. The team divided the work into grids and carefully started chipping off the paint, grid-by-grid and layer-by-layer. The main consideration was to ensure the original artwork didn’t get chipped or damaged.
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Now, it is reported that a significant portion of the mural is restored and will be open to public view at last. This will be the first time anyone has seen it in over five decades. The restoration, however, is expected to last until December 2027.
