MEXICAN history from the early 20th century can be a confusing array of revolutions and counter-revolutions, sprinkled with somewhat clichéd images of men with extravagant moustaches and bandoleers. It was a time when social upheaval led to a mass destruction, death and social change. These events— chronicled on an unprecedented scale—gave rise to a peculiarly vibrant artistic revolution. The gaudy tastes of the Mexican aristocracy were replaced by a simpler but more passionate approach to art, one that remains defiantly original and vibrant to this day. "Mexico: A Revolution in Art" at the Royal Academy in London captures this euphoria. “We are far more familiar with the Russian Revolution than with Mexico’s,” explains Adrian Locke, the curator (and co-curator of the RA's "Aztecs" show in 2002). “Yet in Mexico the art that evolved in that era was far more varied, less affected by state proscriptions. It’s hard to imagine anywhere in Europe that could have rivalled the artistic energy or output that was happening in Mexico in this period.”

The big names are here, such as Diego Rivera, José Orozco and David Siqueiros. Relations between these three—known as ‘los tres grandes’—were fraught with artistic jealousies and ideological differences over the merits of Stalinism versus Trotskyism (an element made more profound by the affair Trotsky had with Rivera's wife Frida Kahlo once he fled Russia for exile in Mexico). This exhibition also shows that Kahlo was not the only female artist who was prominent in Mexico at the time. Tina Modotti and Henrietta Shore, neither of them born in Mexico, were among the many who were apparently energised and inspired by the bohemian atmosphere of Mexico City before the second world war. Prints by Shore, such as "Women of Oaxaca", provide a subdued contrast to the colourful large-scale pieces by such crowd pleasers as Rivera and Orozco. These works are meant to “create a sense of what Mexico would have been like for visitors at the time," says Mr Locke. "A sense of viewing one of those historical moments that remained ‘off the radar’ for many Europeans.” He acknowledges that “the aesthetic may be curious in some ways, because it emanates from something to do with Mexican nation building”.