Diego Rivera: Mexican Muralist

The greatness of Rivera

“I am not merely an ‘artist’ but a man performing his biological function of producing paintings, just as a tree produces flowers and fruit, nor mourns the loss each year, knowing that next season it shall blossom and bear fruit again.” – Diego Rivera

La vida de Diego Rivera •December 8, 1886 - Jose Diego Maria Rivera-Barrientos was born in the city of Guanajuato, Mexico •1908 – Rivera went to Europe to study

•1913 – Painted using the Cubist style •1919 -Diego Rivera first met David Alfaro Siqueiros, another Mexican painter and a passionate Communist

La vida de Diego Rivera •1920-21- traveled through Italy and decided to use frescoes like the Italian masters

•1921 – Rivera returned to Mexico and became part of the Mexican Renaissance •1920’s – produced famous frescoes in public buildings and was asked to leave the Communist party •1928 –met Frida Kahlo who later became his wife in 1929

La vida de Diego Rivera •1930-34- worked in the US on Detroit Industry fresco and one in the Rockerfeller Center •1934 – Rivera returned to Mexico and finished one of his masterpieces – Epic of the Mexican People

•1940’s – peak of his career •1954 –allowed to re-join the Communist party and wife, Frida Kahlo died •1957 – Rivera died of a stroke

Man, the Controller of the Universe

His beliefs • He thought that art should be enjoyed by everyone-especially poor, working people. He was developing a growing interest in the masses and began to deepen his understanding of the folk art and ancient masterpieces of his native land. •Art for the masses

His beliefs

• In the frescoes of Italy he saw how the need for a popular art capable of appealing to the masses--telling them a story--could be met. • The purpose of art is for education and betterment of the people • Politics were inherently intertwined with art

His style • Influenced by Jose Guadalupe Posada and Dr. Atl • Large scale murals • Public art in buildings • Shows the influences of cubism and surrealism • Fresco technique • Bright, bold colors with strong imagery • In crowd scenes – people came together with solidarity and purpose

His style • Made the masses the heroes of his murals (not aristocracy, gods, kings, or chiefs of state) •More traditional than some of his modern counterparts •Architectural structure is important and his murals blend with the composition of the building •Earthy browns, oranges, and shades of green and red to connect with early indigenous murals •Rivera Mexican Type – Symbol of the Mexican Indian – typical small, flat-nosed, roundshouldered brown man (often in sombreros) and women in traditional indigenous dress •Often portrayed famous or well-known people

His themes • Mexican mural movement/Mexican Renaissance • Mexican society and revolution • Historical stories • Glorified Pre-Columbian past • Hopes of the revolution and how they pertained to the future • Marxist and socialist ideals and communist leaders

History of Mexico 1929-35

His themes • Industrialization – would create a new era where the workers would control the machines and gain the power to bring peace to the world • Importance of working class and unions • Faith in the masses and their ability to rise above their stations • Social conditions – people at work • Art as propaganda

His masterpieces

The fresco series Epic of the Mexican People is one of his greatest works. In his gigantic mural on the staircase of the National Palace in Mexico City Rivera envisioned the sweep of time as an immense and colorful panorama, starting with the Pre-Hispanic period on the right, and moving leftward, through the conquest, the War of Independence, the revolution and finally, on the left, to the present and even the future. As a result, his mural teems with so much detail that the viewer is at first overwhelmed. One must read his mural like a book, examining first one part and then another, until one forms a vivid picture of the story of Mexico.

His influence on art and history • He helped to create a new Mexican identity in the 1920’s. • Rivera wanted to create an art that would give the Mexican people a pride in themselves and in and their heritage. His murals changed the way Mexicans saw themselves, and the picture of Mexico formed in the minds of people all over the world.

His influence on art and history

“As an artist a man must be a dreamer; he must interpret the unexpressed hopes, fears and desires of his people and of his time, he must be the conscience of his culture.” – Diego Rivera

His influence on art and history

“An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to the core. If the artist can’t feel everything that humanity feels, if the artist isn’t capable of loving until he forgets himself and sacrifices himself if necessary, if he won’t put down his magic brush and head the fight against the oppressor, then he isn’t a great artist.”