This famous Mexican artist was born in 1886 on December, 8,
to a family of modest income in the city of Guanajuato. His
talent for drawing developed as he got older and went to school
and at age 10, his family moved to Mexico City. Here he was
awarded with a government scholarship to attend the San Carlos
Fine Arts Academy, where he studied until 1902. An important
influence during these years was José Guadalupe Posada,
in whose studio he worked.
His first exhibition was held in 1906 which
turned out to be a huge success with the public. This opened
doors for him, with the government of Veracruz offering him
a scholarship to continue his studies in Madrid, Spain. Rivera
spent the next several years in Europe, studying and traveling
around France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Great Britain.
This experience brought new influences into his work from
the post-impressionist and the cubist movement.
With international events unfolding, Rivera
became interested in the revolutionary movements and became
part of the movement that took hold in his home country. He
wished to express the events, ideas and hopes of the Mexican
Revolution and began studying fresco and mural techniques.
He traveled to Italy in 1920 to study the Renaissance frescoes
preserved there. Back in Mexico, he took part in the founding
of the Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, Painters
and Sculptors in 1922 and also joined the Mexican Communist
Party.
During the 30’s Rivera’s success led him to the
United States, where he worked for a considerable time and
where he presented many of his works in art shows and galleries.
He was also commissioned to create the murals on the Detroit
Institute of Art and on the Rockefeller Center in New York.
The latter was later destroyed by the Center because of the
likeness of one of the images to Lenin. In his final years,
he focused more on landscape drawing and portraits. At the
time of his death on November 25 in 1957, his most ambitious
project a gigantic epic mural on Mexican history was left
unfinished.
Rivera’s art
is one of the most solid foundation blocks upon which Mexican
muralism, one of Latin America’s thriving art movements
is based. His art features a blend of Gauguin, mixed in with
Mayan and Aztec sculpture. He had an extensive artistic career
as a designer, illustrator, muralist and writer. He was also
actively involved in politics.
Works by Diego Rivera:
Girl With Lilies (Niña con alcatraces)
Flower Seller (Vendedora de alcatraces)
The Flower Carrier (Cargador rosa)
Mixcoac Landscape (Paisaje de Mixcoac)
The Tract of Land (La Era)
The Avila Door (La puerta de Ávila)
The Large Old House (la Casona)
Our Lady of Paris (Nuestra Señora de París)
The House on the Bridge (La casa sobre el puente)
Toledo Bridge (Puente de Toledo)
Man with a Cigarette (Hombre del cigarrillo)
Resting Ballerina (Bailarina en reposo)
Dance of the Earth (Danza de la tierra)
