Art

Large murals and stelae, which are sizable, free-standing stone engravings, made up the majority of ancient Mayan art. The Bonampak site in Mexico has the best preserved Mayan murals in existence today, but there are also others in Guatemala. The Quirigua Maya stelae are undoubtedly the most spectacular Maya ruins still standing in the area. Quirigua lies in southern Guatemala.

The majority of Guatemalan painters remained unidentified in the centuries that followed colonization. However, two stand out: the Black Jesus of Esquipulas sculpture by Quirio Catao and the paintings by Thomas de Merlo, both of which are on display at Antigua's Museo de Arte Colonial. Carlos Mérida, the most well-known artist from Guatemala, lived to be almost 100 years old (1891 to 1984). Despite having studied painting in Paris, his style combined American themes with European elements to create Indigenista art. Throughout his lifetime, his art moved through several stages, including geometric, surrealist, and figurative. Most of it is housed in the Museum of Modern Art in Guatemala City. Additionally, he created paintings in Guatemala City.