Roberto Montenegro (1885–1968) was a central figure in Mexican modern art, known for his synthesis of European avant-garde influences, Indigenous aesthetics, and esoteric symbolism. Born in Guadalajara, he trained at the Academy of San Carlos before moving to Europe, where he was influenced by Art Nouveau, Symbolism, and Cubism. Like his contemporaries Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, Montenegro returned to Mexico in the wake of the Revolution, contributing to the state-sponsored mural movement while integrating his own mystical and decorative sensibilities.

His engagement with esoteric currents became particularly evident in his mural The Tree of Life (El Árbol de la Vida, 1922), commissioned by José Vasconcelos for the former Temple of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (Ex templo de San Pedro y San Pablo). This work, considered one of the first murals, reflected Vasconcelos’s vision of a spiritually and intellectually renewed Mexico. Drawing on the Theosophically inspired art theory of Adolfo Best Maugard, Montenegro created a biblical tree of life, along with astrological motifs in the plafond decoration. These themes also appeared in Montenegro’s decoration of Vasconcelos’s office at the Ministry of Public Education, along with a painting about Poetry representing literature and the arts.

Montenegro’s career reflected a unique approach to Mexican muralism, one that moved beyond the epic historical narratives of Rivera and Orozco to embrace allegory, myth, and spiritual introspection. His engagement with the Drawing Method of Best Maugard, his incorporation of astrological motifs, and his interest in the decorative and the symbolic positioned him as a key figure in the intersection of modernist and esoteric artistic currents in post-revolutionary Mexico.