San Ildefonso Street facade Although it no longer provides access inside the complex, the large facade that runs along almost the entire length of San Ildefonso Street is the original, with a wide pedestrian zone between it and the street. The facade is a long wall which is covered in tezontle, a blood-red porous volcanic stone, with windows and doors arranged unevenly and pilasters dividing the façade horizontally. These windows and doors are framed with
jambs and
lintels in cantera, a grayish-white stone. Vertical
pilasters made of , another kind of white stone, divide the facade, which has two levels with the lower one being larger. Most of the facade belongs to the Colegio Grande, or the original section of the college. There are two extremely large portals done in cantera with supporting relieves done in "tecali", a very white, almost transparent marble. On the far left of the pedestrian zone is the stone portal of the Colegio Chico. This is the oldest intact section of facade, and it is adorned with estipite (inverted truncated pyramid) pilasters. Either they or the estipite designs on the Kings Altar of the cathedral are the first use of this design in New Spain. This portal has a relief named
La imposición de la casulla a san Ildefonsus ("Putting on the
chasuble on Saint
Ildephonsus of Toledo") and opens to a hall that leads to the largest patio. The portal leading to the Colegio Chico has a relief called
El patrocinio de san Jose los Jesuitas (
Saint Joseph as patron of the Jesuits) as well as one called
Virgen del Rosario (
Our Lady of the Rosary) both done in tecali. This portal opens to a hall that leads to a smaller patio.
Colegio Grande Colegio Grande or Large College is the largest and original portion of the complex. It consists of one large patio, surrounded on all four sides by simple rounded arches, hallways, and rooms and one smaller patio called the "Patio de los Pasantes." The school part has three floors with a monumental staircase and contains most of the mural work done at San Ildefonso, and most of this was done by José Clemente Orozco between 1922 and 1927. In what was once the
portico, there is a mural by
Ramón Alva de la Canal entitled
The Spanish Landing and Planting of the Cross on New Land done in 1922. This fresco is considered to be the first of "The New School" of painting dealing with a specific point of Mexican history. On the opposite wall of the portico is the
Allegory of the Virgin of Guadalupe by Fermin Revueltas. During the commission of this work, after not being paid for a number of weeks, Revueltas staged a kind of a strike at the school. Armed with a pistol and being somewhat drunk, he forced the porter to close the doors of the school. Since neither students nor teachers could enter the school, classes were suspended. The situation was resolved when David Alfaro Siqueiros met with Education Minister José Vasconcelos to arrange payment in gold coins. The story ends with both Siqueiros and Revueltas spending the money at a local
cantina. From the large patio of the Colegio Grande, one can see murals done by Orozco on all three floors. In the second floor corridor is a piece by Orozco called
The Old Order which is considered a satirical work and
The Trench which is considered one of his best works. On the third floor corridor is another series of murals by Orozco known as
New Ideals. The staircase connecting the three floors also contains Orozco's mural
The Origin of Spanish America, but the upper portion of the staircase contains works by other artists. The southern wall of the stairway leading to the third floor is occupied by a mural by French artist Jean Charlot entitled
The Conquest of Tenochtitlan. This work covers an aspect of Aztec history for the first time and is also noted for the use of metallic encrustations on the necklaces worn by Aztec lords. The northern wall contains a work called
The Festivities of the Lord of Chalma by Fernando Leal. The work is noted for its use of bright color on the dancers and is considered a notable example of Neo-Baroque style.
Chapel (en
1922), inside the Simón Bolívar Amphitheater, in the Old School of San Ildefonso (then of the National Preparatory School, of the then called National University of Mexico; today one of the cultural centers of the National Autonomous University of Mexico), the Historic Center of Mexico City. On one side of the hallway leading from the portal to the patio, there is the old chapel. This chapel was used as a library during the years that this was the preparatory school. This chapel contains a number of paintings.
El Generalito On the other side of the hallway, to the left of the "La Tinchera" mural, is "El Generalito" (the little general) the general assembly room of the Preparatory School. This room got its nickname because despite its small size, it was still the room used for all major assemblies. It contains the elaborately carved
choir stalls that belonged to the Convent of San Agustin, created by Salvador Ocampo with relief work in wood. These stalls were probably created sometime in the last third of the 17th century. They were brought, refurbished, and installed here in 1890. In addition to a number of paintings, this room also has an elaborately carved professor's chair that was made for the Preparatory School.
Patio de los Pasantes The smaller courtyard of the Colegio Grande is called the "Patio de los Pasantes." Pasantes (lit. "those who have passed") were those students who had completed all classes but needed to write their theses. When students reached this point, they were housed in this side of the building. It has only three sides with arches, with the fourth side being a blank wall. Otherwise, this patio is similar to the larger one.
Colegio Chico While the Colegio Chico has undergone significant modifications since it was built onto the main college in the 18th century, it remains intact to this day. From the Colegio Chico entrance there is a simple stairwell. Siqueiros (muralist) painted the sides of this stairwell from 1922 to 1924, but he never finished the work. Furthermore, much of the work was lost during later renovations. Only a work on the stairwell's ceiling, called
The Elements, survives intact.
Amphitheater Bolívar The portals of the San Ildefonso Street side of the complex are no longer open for public access. The entrance to the complex is now on Justo Sierra Street through the Simón Bolívar Amphitheater. In 1906, due to the growth of the Preparatory School, a new building was ordered for the land against and behind the Colegio Grande. The amphitheatre was built by architect Samuel Chavez between 1906 and 1911. Another building that served as the dean's offices was finished in 1931 and designed by architect Pablo Flores. Both the amphitheatre and the dean's offices were designed to copy the Baroque style of the rest of the complex but, according to critics, both contain a significant number of design errors. The lobby leading from the Just Sierra entrance has a double arcade decorated with elaborate Neo-
Churrigueresque details. One the left is a fresco painted by Fernando Leal between 1931 and 1933. Named
Epopeya bolivariana, it is a historical piece done in nine panels depicting the heroes that fought for independence in the various countries of the
Americas. Inside the Bolívar Amphitheater itself, one of Diego Rivera's early murals
The Creation is exhibited. Despite the mixture of styles and concepts, this mural contains some of the features that would become Rivera trademarks: generous curves in the human form, Mexican nationalist elements, geometric structure of the composition, and groupings of famous persons. Other paintings here include works by Emilio Garcia Cahera,
Ernesto García Cabral, and Angel Bolivar. ==Notable alumni==