Mural (Julie Mehretu)
Mural is a 2009 large-scale mural painting made using ink and acrylic on canvas by the contemporary Ethiopian-American visual artist Julie Mehretu. The work was commissioned in 2007 by the American investment bank Goldman Sachs for the lobby of its new headquarters at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan. The painting consists of a dynamic arrangement of intersecting abstract forms executed with the use of 215 colors, which draw upon images of trade routes, maps, and photographs related to the history of global economies and the financial industry. : 249 
Mehretu's concept for the design of the work was influenced by French historian Fernand Braudel's extensive study of Western capitalism, while the densely layered and contrasting forms interwoven into the composition of Mural allude to capitalism's complex, self-sustaining nature and illustrate the process of mapping the intricate network of global trade and communications. The mural was completed in 2009 at the cost of $5 million, primarily spent on fabrication costs and salaries for a team of studio assistants.