Diego Rivera

By Shelly Michael 8/2002

1. If you were to have 5 frames to depict your life story, what events would you portray in the 5 frames?

2. If you were to design a mural for your school, what types of images would you include and why?

3. Should you have to pay a fee to see art at a gallery?

A Self Portrait, 1941

Diego María de la Concepción Juan

Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos

Acosta y Rodriguez

was born in 1886 in Guanajuato, Mexico along with his twin,

Carlos.

His brother died at age two and Diego was very

sick also.

He was sent to the country to be cured and raised by an Indian nurse named Antonia. He loved Antonia even more than his own mother.

La Molendera, 1924

Woman Combing, 1957

As a child, the world of his dreams was as real to him as the material world. This trait persistent into his adulthood and helped him perceive and create

elaborate and detailed scenes.

Man at the Crossroads, 1939

A Night of the Rich, 1928

During Rivera’s youth Porfirio Díaz rebelled against the government and made

himself a tyrant president. His patronage to the arts was limited to an attempt to copy

the greatness of Europe.

Mexico had no national identity, the indigenous population was ignored.

A Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park, 1947/48

What question would you ask Rivera about this painting?

Rivera drew at an early age and he drew on everything.

Rivera studied the works of José Guadalupe Posada who was an engraver of political and historical cartoons.

Rivera later went to Paris to study and was mesmerized by the bright colors of rural scenes by Cézanne.

Rivera decided that he wanted to paint Mexican not European, he wanted Mexico to have its own personal identify.

Danza en Tehuana, 1928

Primitive art was never before valued in Mexico.

An entire Mayan city was bought for only $50 in 1839.

What story does this mural tell?

The Indigenous World, 1929/35

In Europe Rivera was introduced to Communist ideology and in Mexico twenty years of rebellion and counter-revolutions followed the overthrow of Porfirio Díaz who had ruled for thirty years.

During these chaotic times in Mexico a few advances were achieved such as land redistribution, improved public health and a fight against illiteracy.From Conquest to 1930, 1929/35

Portrait of Natasha Gellman

Portrait of Dolores Olmedo, 1955 Irene Phillips Olmedo, 1955

How would you describe the people in these paintings? Are they like you or different?

He loved many women in his life. He married several times.

He married the famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo twice. He was 43 and she was only 19.

Frida Kahlo shared his interests in art, in Mexican culture, and in the Communist Party.

He was commissioned to paint the walls of the National Palace in Mexico City. It took him six years to complete the walls. He began to paint the epic tale of his people. He painted the entire history of his country from the Conquest to the present day.

La Gran Tenochtitlán, 1945

The color, and

pageantry,

From Conquest to 1930

The heroism and cruelty,

the ruthlessness and power of the Conquest,

From Conquest to 1930

The Arsenal, Frida Kahlo Distributes Arms,

The struggles of the Mexico of yesterday and

today.

Does the title of the painting

give you a clue to the meaning of the painting?

Pan-American Unity, 1940

In 1933 Rivera was hired by the Rockefellers to paint a wall in the RCA Building in New York.

When they saw that a portrait of Lenin was to be part of the mural, Rivera was asked to substitute it with an unknown person.

Rivera refused, the US boycotted him, his mural was smashed to powder and he was to never paint the walls of the US.

Modern Industry, 1933

Rivera was a revolutionary painter.

He took art to the public, to streets and

buildings. He illustrated his ideas of history,

society, politics, religion, industry,

science, and nature for all to see and enjoy.

Mussolini, 1933

He illustrated pride in the Indigenous people

of Mexico and the customs and

traditions of Mexico.

He gave Mexico a national identity.

Día de la Flor, 1925

His simplified and colorful style of

painting recovered the pre-Colombian past of Mexico.

Vendedora de Flores, 1949

Calla Lily Vendor

The Flower Carrier, 1935

Rivera believed art should serve

working people and be

readily available to

them.

By putting his paintings on buildings as murals, he made art

available to everyone.

The Maize Festival, 1923

A Nude with Calla Lilies, 1944

Cara Tehuana, 1936

Day of the Dead, The Offering, 1923/24

A Painting by Frida Kahlo, The Love Embrace of the Universe, The Earth(Mexico), Myself, Diego and Señor Xólotl, 1949.

Rivera’s wife, Frida Kahlo died

in 1954 when Rivera was 70.

He felt completely lost

without her.

Diego Rivera died

in 1957.

UN REPASO

1. What important story do the murals of Diego Rivera tell?

2. Where did Rivera paint in order for all people to view?

3. What political influence is evident in Rivera’s paintings?

4. What technological influence is evident?

The history of Mexico.

On public buildings.

Communism.

Industrialism.