Panel 7. Departure of Quetzalcoatl - The Epic of American Civilization 1934

"Panel 7. Departure of Quetzalcoatl" is part of José Clemente Orozco's monumental fresco cycle "The Epic of American Civilization," completed in 1934. This panel depicts the departure of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god of the Aztecs, from the Americas. In the fresco, Quetzalcoatl, a pale-skinned figure with a long white beard, is depicted as he departs from the Americas, leaving behind the indigenous people of the continent. The imagery is symbolic of the arrival of European colonialism and the cultural and social changes that it brought about. This powerful mural can be viewed at the Baker-Berry Library at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.