A mural is a large picture or artwork painted or applied directly on a wall or ceiling. Murals can be decorative, political, or used to tell stories in public spaces.
From French *mural*, from Latin *muralis* “of a wall,” from *murus* “wall.” The original sense was simply “relating to walls,” and it narrowed to mean wall paintings.
Mural literally means “wall thing,” so it’s the architecture that defines the art, not the style. Because murals live in public space, they turn whole streets into galleries that everyone can walk through for free. That’s why they’re often used for community identity and protest messages.
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