José Clemente Orozco (Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, 1883 – Ciudad de México, 1949) was a prominent Mexican muralist whose work was characterized by his political criticism, social commitment, and a unique artistic style. His initial exposure to art came through the prints of José Guadalupe Posada. 

During the Mexican Revolution, Orozco joined the Carrancista army and worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for the newspaper La Vanguardia, though he distanced himself from the movement due to the horrors of the armed conflict. He moved to the United States and worked as an independent painter before returning to Mexico in 1922, where he joined the rising muralist movement. This experience allowed him to produce significant murals, including those at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (National Preparatory School) and the Escuela Industrial (Industry School) in Orizaba. In 1930, he became the first Mexican to create a mural in the United States at Pomona College in California.

Orozco often used fire as a symbol of transformation and destruction in his monumental murals, such as in Katharsis and the frescoes at the Hospicio Cabañas. In 1940, his work was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, where he painted Dive Bomber and Tank, a denunciation of industrialized war. His later works focused on the Conquest of Mexico, offering a profound critique of the conflict between the Spanish and Indigenous peoples. His legacy remains a cornerstone of modern Mexican art, and his murals continue to influence generations of artists.