Artist of the Day, December 28, 2020: Diego Rivera, a Mexican painter (#1183)

Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (1886–1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the mural movement in Mexican and international art.

Rivera had numerous marriages and children, including at least one natural daughter. His first child and only son died at the age of two. His fourth wife was fellow Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, with whom he had a volatile relationship that continued until her death. He was married a fifth time, to his agent.

His passion for art emerged early on. He began drawing as a child. Around the age of 10, Rivera went to study art at the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts in Mexico City. One of his early influences was artist José Posada who ran a print shop near Rivera's school.

In 1907, Rivera traveled to Europe to further his art studies. There, he befriended many leading artists of the day, including Pablo Picasso. Rivera was also able to view influential works by Paul Gaugin and Henri Matisse, among others.

Rivera had some success as a Cubist painter in Europe, but the course of world events would strongly change the style and subject of his work. Inspired by the political ideals of the Mexican Revolution (1914-15) and the Russian Revolution (1917), Rivera wanted to make art that reflected the lives of the working class and native peoples of Mexico. He developed an interest in making murals during a trip to Italy, finding inspiration in the Renaissance frescos there.

Returning to Mexico, Rivera began to express his artistic ideas about Mexico. He received funding from the government to create a series of murals about the country's people and its history on the walls of public buildings. In 1922, Rivera completed the first of the murals at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria in Mexico City.

In the 1930s and '40s, Rivera painted several murals in the United States. Some of his works created controversy, especially the one he did for the Rockefeller family in the RCA building in New York City. The mural, known as "Man at the Crossroads," featured a portrait of Russian Communist leader Vladimir Lenin. The artist had reportedly included Lenin in his piece to portray the turbulent political atmosphere at the time, which was largely defined by conflicting capitalist and socialist ideologies and escalating fears surrounding the Communist Party.

In 1934, Nelson Rockefeller famously ordered the demolition of "Man at the Crossroads." Publish backlash against the Rockefellers ensued; after long proclaiming a deep dedication to the arts, the powerful family now looked both hypocritical and tyrannical. John D. Rockefeller Jr. later attempted to explain the destruction of the mural, stating, "The picture was obscene and, in the judgment of Rockefeller Center, an offense to good taste. It was for this reason primarily that Rockefeller Center decided to destroy it."

In the late 1930s, Rivera went through a slow period, in terms of work. He had no major mural commissions around this time so he devoted himself to painting other works. While they always had a stormy relationship, Rivera and Kahlo decided to divorce in 1939. But the pair reunited the following year and remarried. The couple hosted Communist exile Leon Trotsky at their home during this period.

Rivera returned to murals with one made for the 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition held in San Franciso. In Mexico City, he spent from 1945 to 1951 working on a series of murals known as "From the Pre-Hispanic Civilization to the Conquest." His last mural was called "Popular History of Mexico."

By the mid-1950s, Rivera's health was in decline. He had traveled abroad for cancer treatment, but doctors were unable to cure him. Rivera died of heart failure.

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Mr. Diego Rivera

 House over the Bridge
1909

 Portrait of Angelina Beloff
1909

 View of Toledo
1912

 The Adoration of the Virgin
1913

 Sailor at Breakfast
1914

 Two Women
1914

 Portrait of Marevna
1915

 Portrait of Martín Luis Guzmán
1915

 Zapatista Landscape
1915

 Motherhood - Angelina and the Child
1916

 Liberation of the Peon
1923

 The Maize Festival
1924

 Flower Festival
1925

 Flower Vendor (Vendedora de Flores)
1925

 Dance in Tehuantepec
1928

The History of Mexico
1929-35

Allegory of California
1930-31

Agrarian Leader Zapata
1931

The Flowered Canoe
1931

The Making of a Fresco, Showing The Building of a City
1931

 The Rivals
1931

 The Uprising
1931

 Detroit Industry North
1932-33

 detail Man Controller of the Universe
1934

Man Controller of the Universe
1934

 detail Man Controller of the Universe
1934

 The Flower Carrier
1935

 Self Portrait Dedicated to Irene Rich
1941

 Dance to the sun
1942

Portrait of Natasha Gelman
1943

Nude with Calla Lilies
1944

Woman selling Calla Lilies
1944

Tehuana (Bathing in the River)
1946

 Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central Park
1947

 The Watermelons