Following the Mexican Revolution and the establishment of a new government in 1917, David Alfaro Siqueiros, along with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, emerged as one of the leaders of the modern Mexican art movement. His numerous paintings and murals portray changing society and political issues from a left-wing perspective, which is infused by his experiences as part of the Mexican Revolution Army and as an activist advocating for radical social change.

Siqueiros was known to experiment with industrial materials in his work. In Marcha Revolucionaria, he used Duco paint—a type of nitro-cellulose paint manufactured by DuPont for the auto industry. The electric red highlights in this painting underline the theme of revolutionary struggle in Mexico during the 1930s, as the close-up view of the men and the artist’s loose and expressive brushwork intensifies the sense of movement and action. The gesture of their raised fists suggests anger, but also triumph.