Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es helped establish the mural movement in

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s in, among other places,

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Chapingo Chapingo is a small town located on the outskirts of the city of Texcoco, State of Mexico in central Mexico. It is located at , about east-northeast of Mexico City International Airport. Chapingo is most notable as the location of Chapingo Auto ...

, and Cuernavaca, Mexico; and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, United States. In 1931, a retrospective exhibition of his works was held at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in New York; this was before he completed his 27-mural series known as ''

Detroit Industry Murals The ''Detroit Industry Murals'' (1932–1933) are a series of frescoes by the Mexican artist Diego Rivera, consisting of twenty-seven panels depicting industry at the Ford Motor Company and in Detroit. Together they surround the interior River ...

''. Rivera had four wives and numerous children, including at least one natural daughter. His first child and only son died at the age of two. His third wife was fellow Mexican artist

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...

, with whom he had a volatile relationship that continued until her death. His fourth and final wife was his agent. Due to his importance in the country's art history, the government of Mexico declared Rivera's works as '' monumentos historicos''. As of 2018, Rivera holds the record for highest price at auction for a work by a

Latin American art Latin American art is the combined artistic expression of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, as well as Latin Americans living in other regions. The art has roots in the many different indigenous cultures that inhabited the ...

ist. The 1931 painting ''The Rivals'', part of the record-setting Collection of Peggy Rockefeller and David Rockefeller, sold for US$9.76 million.

Personal life

Rivera was born on December 8, 1886, as one of twin boys in

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, to María del Pilar Barrientos and Diego Rivera Acosta, a well-to-do couple. His twin brother Carlos died two years after they were born. His mother María del Pilar Barrientos was said to have ''

converso A ''converso'' (; ; feminine form ''conversa''), "convert", () was a Jew who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries, or one of his or her descendants. To safeguard the Old Christian po ...

'' ancestry ( Spanish ancestors who were forced to convert from

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the 15th and 16th centuries). Rivera wrote in 1935: "My Jewishness is the dominant element in my life", despite never being raised practicing any Jewish faith, Rivera felt his Jewish ancestry informed his art and gave him "sympathy with the downtrodden masses". Diego was of Spanish, Amerindian, African, Italian, Jewish, Russian, and Portuguese descent. Rivera began drawing at the age of three, a year after his twin brother died. When he was caught drawing on the walls of the house, his parents installed chalkboards and canvas on the walls to encourage him.

Marriages and families

After moving to Paris, Rivera met

Angelina Beloff Angelina Beloff (born Angelina Petrovna Belova; russian: Ангелина Петровна Белова; June 23, 1879 – December 30, 1969) was a Russian-born artist who did most of her work in Mexico. However, she is better known as Diego Rive ...

, an artist from the pre-Revolutionary Russian Empire. They married in 1911, and had a son, Diego (1916–1918), who died young. During this time, Rivera also had a relationship with painter Maria Vorobieff-Stebelska, who gave birth to a daughter named

Marika Rivera Marika Rivera (13 November 1919 – 14 January 2010) was a French-born film and stage actress and dancer. Biography Rivera was born in Paris, France, the daughter of the Mexican artist Diego Rivera and his mistress, the Russian-born painter Mar ...

in 1918 or 1919. Rivera divorced Beloff and married

Guadalupe Marín Guadalupe "Lupe" Marín (October 16, 1895 – September 16, 1983), born María Guadalupe Marín Preciado, was a Mexican model and novelist. Biography Marín was born in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, Mexico. When aged eight, Marín moved with her ...

as his second wife in June 1922, after having returned to Mexico. They had two daughters together: Ruth and Guadalupe. Diego-rivera-en-Paris

He was still married when he met art student

in Mexico. They began a passionate affair and, after he divorced Marin, Rivera married Kahlo on August 21, 1929. He was 42 and she was 22. Their mutual infidelities and his violent temper resulted in divorce in 1939, but they remarried December 8, 1940, in

, California. A year after Kahlo's death, on July 29, 1955, Rivera married Emma Hurtado, his agent since 1946. In his later years Rivera lived in the United States and Mexico. Rivera died on November 24, 1957 at the age of nearly 71. He was buried at the Panteón de Dolores in Mexico.

Personal beliefs

Rivera was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. His mural ''Dreams of a Sunday in the Alameda'' depicted Ignacio Ramírez holding a sign that read, "God does not exist". This work caused a furor, but Rivera refused to remove the inscription. The painting was not shown for nine years – until Rivera agreed to remove the inscription. He stated: "To affirm 'God does not exist', I do not have to hide behind Don Ignacio Ramírez; I am an atheist and I consider religions to be a form of collective neurosis."

Art education and circle

From the age of ten, Rivera studied art at the

Academy of San Carlos The Academy of San Carlos ( es, Academia de San Carlos) is located at 22 Academia Street in just northeast of the main plaza of Mexico City. It was the first major art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1781 as th ...

. He was sponsored to continue study in Europe by Teodoro A. Dehesa Méndez, the governor of the State of

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. After arriving in Europe in 1907, Rivera first went to Madrid, Spain to study with

Eduardo Chicharro Eduardo is the Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte (name), Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and spor ...

. From there he went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, a destination for young European and American artists and writers, who settled in inexpensive flats in Montparnasse. His circle frequented La Ruche, where his Italian friend

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...

painted his portrait in 1914. His circle of close friends included

Ilya Ehrenburg Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg (russian: link=no, Илья́ Григо́рьевич Эренбу́рг, ; – August 31, 1967) was a Soviet writer, revolutionary, journalist and historian. Ehrenburg was among the most prolific and notable autho ...

Chaïm Soutine Chaïm Soutine (13 January 1893 – 9 August 1943) was a Belarusian painter who made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living and working in Paris. Inspired by classic painting in the European tradition, exemplified by the ...

, Modigliani and his wife Jeanne Hébuterne,

Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...

, gallery owner Léopold Zborowski, and

Moise Kisling Moise is a given name and surname, with differing spellings in its French and Romanian origins, both of which originate from the name Moses: Moïse is the French spelling of Moses, while Moise is the Romanian spelling. As a surname, Moisè and M ...

. Rivera's former lover Marie Vorobieff-Stebelska (Marevna) honored the circle in her painting ''Homage to Friends from Montparnasse'' (1962). In those years, some prominent young painters were experimenting with an art form that would later be known as

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

, a movement led by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

. From 1913 to 1917, Rivera enthusiastically embraced this new style. Around 1917, inspired by

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

's paintings, Rivera shifted toward

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

, using simple forms and large patches of vivid colors. His paintings began to attract attention, and he was able to display them at several exhibitions. Rivera claimed in his autobiography that, while in Mexico in 1904, he engaged in cannibalism, pooling his money with others to "purchase cadavers from the city morgue" and particularly "relish ngwomen's brains in vinaigrette". This claim has been considered factually suspect or an elaborate lie. He wrote in his autobiography: "I believe that when man evolves a civilization higher than the mechanized but still primitive one he has now, the eating of human flesh will be sanctioned. For then man will have thrown off all of his superstitions and irrational taboos."

Career in Mexico

In 1920, urged by

Alberto J. Pani Alberto José Pani Arteaga (12 June 1878 – 25 August 1955) was a prominent politician, Mexican civil engineer, and expert in economic policy, who during the post-revolutionary period held various important positions. Among these were Secretary ...

, the Mexican ambassador to France, Rivera left France and traveled through Italy studying its art, including

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

es. After José Vasconcelos became Minister of Education, Rivera returned to Mexico in 1921 to become involved in the government sponsored Mexican

program planned by Vasconcelos. The program included such

artists as

José Clemente Orozco José Clemente Orozco (November 23, 1883 – September 7, 1949) was a Mexican caricaturist and painter, who specialized in political murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Sique ...

David Alfaro Siqueiros David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...

, and Rufino Tamayo, and the French artist Jean Charlot. In January 1922, he painted – experimentally in encaustic – his first significant mural ''Creation'' in the Bolívar Auditorium of the

National Preparatory School The Escuela Nacional Preparatoria ( en, National Preparatory High School) (ENP), the oldest senior High School system in Mexico, belonging to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), opened its doors on February 1, 1868. It was founde ...

in Mexico City while guarding himself with a pistol against

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

students. In the autumn of 1922, Rivera participated in the founding of the Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors, and later that year he joined the Mexican Communist Party (including its

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

). His murals, subsequently painted in

only, dealt with Mexican society and reflected the country's

1910 Revolution The 5 October 1910 revolution was the overthrow of the centuries-old Portuguese monarchy and its replacement by the First Portuguese Republic. It was the result of a ''coup d'état'' organized by the Portuguese Republican Party. By 1910, the Ki ...

. Rivera developed his own native style based on large, simplified figures and bold colors with an

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

influence clearly present in murals at the Secretariat of Public Education in

begun in September 1922, intended to consist of one hundred and twenty-four frescoes, and finished in 1928. Rivera's art work, in a fashion similar to the

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

s of the Maya, tells stories. The mural (''In the Arsenal'') shows on the right-hand side Tina Modotti holding an ammunition belt and facing

Julio Antonio Mella Julio Antonio Mella McPartland (25 March 1903 – 10 January 1929) was a Cuban political activist and one of the founders of the original Popular Socialist Party (Cuba), Communist Party of Cuba. Mella studied law at the University of Havana but ...

, in a light hat, and

Vittorio Vidali Vittorio Vidali (27 September 1900 – 9 November 1983), also known as Vittorio Vidale, Enea Sormenti, Jacobo Hurwitz Zender, Carlos Contreras, and "Comandante Carlos", was an Italian communist. After being expelled from Italy with the rise ...

behind in a black hat. However, the detail shown does not include the right-hand side described nor any of the three individuals mentioned; instead it shows the left-hand side with Frida Kahlo handing out munitions.

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

lived with Rivera and Kahlo for several months while exiled in Mexico. Some of Rivera's most famous murals are featured at the National School of Agriculture (

Chapingo Autonomous University , mottoeng = To teach the exploitation of the land, not the exploitation of the men. , established = 22 February 1854 , type = Public university , rector = , director = , faculty = 1,254 (2017) , staff ...

of Agriculture) at

near Texcoco (1925–1927), in the Cortés Palace in Cuernavaca (1929–30), and the

National Palace Buildings called National Palace include: *National Palace (Dominican Republic), in Santo Domingo *National Palace (El Salvador), in San Salvador *National Palace (Ethiopia), in Addis Ababa; also known as the Jubilee Palace *National Palace (Guatema ...

in Mexico City (1929–30, 1935). Rivera painted murals in the main hall and corridor at the

of Agriculture (UACh). He also painted a fresco mural titled ('' Fertile Land'' in English) in the university's chapel between 1923 and 1927. ''Fertile Land'' depicts the revolutionary struggles of Mexico's peasant (farmers) and working classes (industry) in part through the depiction of

hammer and sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industri ...

joined by a star in the soffit of the chapel. In the mural, a "propagandist" points to another hammer and sickle. The mural features a woman with an ear of

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

in each hand, which art critic Antonio Rodriguez describes as evocative of the Aztec goddess of

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

in his book . The corpses of revolutionary heroes Emiliano Zapata and

Otilio Montano Otilio is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Otilio Ulate Blanco (1891–1973), President of Costa Rica from 1949 to 1953 *Otilio Galíndez, (1935–2009), Venezuelan musician and composer *Otilio Olguín (born 1931), Mexican form ...

are shown in graves, their bodies fertilizing the maize field above. A sunflower in the center of the scene "glorifies those who died for an ideal and are reborn, transfigured, into the fertile cornfield of the nation", writes Rodrigues. The mural also depicts Rivera's wife Guadalupe Marin as a fertile nude goddess and their daughter Guadalupe Rivera y Marin as a cherub. The mural was slightly damaged in an earthquake, but has since been repaired and touched up, remaining in pristine form.

Later years

Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-36942-0001,_Berlin,_Besuch_Diego_Rivera,_Engel,_Otto_Nagel

In the autumn of 1927, Rivera went to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Soviet Union, having accepted a government invitation to take part in the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

. The following year, while still in the Soviet Union, he met American

Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Alfred Hamilton Barr Jr. (January 28, 1902 – August 15, 1981) was an American art historian and the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. From that position, he was one of the most influential forces in the development of ...

, who would soon become Rivera's friend and patron. Barr was the founding director of the

in New York City. Although commissioned to paint a mural for the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

Club in Moscow, in 1928 Rivera was ordered by authorities to leave the country because, he suspected, of "resentment on the part of certain Soviet artists." He returned to Mexico. In 1929, following the assassination of former president Álvaro Obregón the previous year, the government suppressed the Mexican Communist Party. That year Rivera was expelled from the party because of his suspected

Trotskyite Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an Orthodox Marxism, orthod ...

sympathies. In addition, observers noted that his 1928 mural ''In the Arsenal'' includes the figures of communists Tina Modotti, Cuban

, and Italian

. After Mella was murdered in January 1929, allegedly by

Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

assassin Vidali, Rivera was accused of having had advance knowledge of a planned attack. After divorcing his third wife, Guadalupe (Lupe) Marin, Rivera married the much younger

in August 1929. They had met when she was a student, and she was 22 years old when they married; Rivera was 42. Also in 1929, American journalist

Ernestine Evans Ernestine Evans (August 9, 1889 – July 3, 1967) was an American journalist, editor, author and literary agent. Life Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she lived in Elkhart, Indiana during her childhood and attended the University of Chicago, receivi ...

's book ''The Frescoes of Diego Rivera'', was published in New York City; it was the first English-language book on the artist. In December, Rivera accepted a commission from the American Ambassador to Mexico to paint murals in the Palace of Cortés in Cuernavaca, where the US had a consulate. In September 1930, Rivera accepted a commission by architect

Timothy L. Pflueger Timothy Ludwig Pflueger (September 26, 1892 – November 20, 1946) was an architect, interior designer and architectural lighting designer in the San Francisco Bay Area in the first half of the 20th century. Together with James Rupert Miller, Ja ...

for two works related to his design projects in

. Rivera and Kahlo went to the city in November. Rivera painted a mural for the City Club of the

San Francisco Stock Exchange The San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange was a regional stock exchange based in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1882, in 1928 the exchange purchased and began using the name San Francisco Stock Exchange, while the old San Fran ...

for US$2,500. He also completed a fresco for the California School of Fine Art, a work that was later relocated to what is now the

Diego Rivera Gallery The Diego Rivera Gallery is building, formerly a student-directed art gallery and exhibition space for work by San Francisco Art Institute students. History The gallery provided an opportunity for BFA, MFA and Post-Baccalaureate students to pres ...

at the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

. During this period, Rivera and Kahlo worked and lived at the studio of Ralph Stackpole, who had recommended Rivera to Pflueger. Rivera met

Helen Wills Moody Helen Newington Wills (October 6, 1905 – January 1, 1998), also known by her married names Helen Wills Moody and Helen Wills Roark, was an American tennis player. She won 31 Grand Slam tournament titles (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) du ...

, a notable American tennis player, who modeled for his City Club mural. In November 1931, the

in New York City mounted a retrospective exhibition of Rivera's work; Kahlo attended with him.Gerry Souter (2012)
''Kahlo''
New York: Parkstone International. . p. 18. Between 1932 and 1933, Rivera completed a major commission: twenty-seven fresco panels, entitled '' Detroit Industry,'' on the walls of an inner court at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Part of the cost was paid by

Edsel Ford Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...

, scion of the entrepreneur. During the

McCarthyism McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origin ...

of the 1950s, a large sign was placed in the courtyard defending the artistic merit of the murals while attacking his politics as "detestable." His mural '' Man at the Crossroads'', originally a three-paneled work, begun as a commission for

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in ...

in 1933 for the Rockefeller Center in New York City, was later removed. Because it included a portrait of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

, former leader of the Soviet Union and

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

pro-worker content, Rockefeller's son, the press, and some of the public protested. Anti-Communism ran high in some American circles, although many others in this period of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

had been drawn to the movement as offering hope to labor. When Diego refused to remove Lenin from the painting, he was ordered to leave the US. One of Diego's assistants managed to take a few photographs of the work so Diego was able to later recreate it. American poet Archibald MacLeish wrote six "irony-laden" poems about the mural. ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine published E. B. White's light poem, "I paint what I see: A ballad of artistic integrity", also in response to the controversy with number of sponsors taking offense to it. DiegoRiveraTombFrontDoloresDF

As a result of the negative publicity, officials in Chicago cancelled their commission for Rivera to paint a mural for the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

. Rivera issued a press statement, saying that he would use the remaining money from his commission at Rockefeller Center to repaint the same mural, over and over, wherever he was asked, until the money ran out. He had been paid in full although the mural was reportedly destroyed. There have been rumors that the mural was covered over rather than removed and destroyed, but this has not been confirmed. In December 1933, Rivera returned to Mexico. He repainted ''Man at the Crossroads'' in 1934 in the

Palacio de Bellas Artes The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It has hosted notable events in music, dance, theatre, opera and literature in Mexico and has held important exhibitions of painting, sculpture and p ...

in Mexico City, calling this version '' Man, Controller of the Universe''. On June 5, 1940, invited again by Pflueger, Rivera returned for the last time to the United States to paint a ten-panel mural for the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. His work, ''

Pan American Unity ''Pan American Unity'' is a mural painted by Mexican artist and muralist Diego Rivera for the Art in Action exhibition at Treasure Island's Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) in San Francisco, California in 1940. This work was the cente ...

'' was completed November 29, 1940. Rivera painted in front of attendees at the Exposition, which had already opened. He received US$1,000 per month and US$1,000 for travel expenses. The mural includes representations of two of Pflueger's architectural works, and portraits of Rivera's wife, Frida Kahlo, woodcarver

Dudley C. Carter Dudley Christopher Carter (May 6, 1891 – April 7, 1992) was an artist and woodcarver from the Pacific Northwest. His works are on display in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon and California. There are also works of his on display in Japan a ...

, and actress Paulette Goddard. She is shown holding Rivera's hand as they plant a white tree together. Rivera's assistants on the mural included

Thelma Johnson Streat Thelma Beatrice Johnson Streat (1912–1959) was an African-American artist, dancer, and educator. She gained prominence in the 1940s for her art, performance and work to foster intercultural understanding and appreciation. Early life and educ ...

, a pioneer African-American artist, dancer, and textile designer. The mural and its archives are now held by

City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a State school#United States, public community college in San Francisco, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local ...

Membership in AMORC

In 1926, Rivera became a member of AMORC, the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, an occult organization founded by American occultist

Harvey Spencer Lewis Harvey Spencer Lewis F.R.C., S:::I:::I:::, 33° 66° 95°, PhD (November 25, 1883 – August 2, 1939), a noted Rosicrucian author, occultist, and mystic, was the founder in the US and the first Imperator of the Ancient and Mystical Order Ros ...

. In 1926, Rivera was among the founders of AMORC's Mexico City lodge, called Quetzalcoatl after an ancient indigenous god. He painted an image of

Quetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl (, ; Spanish: ''Quetzalcóatl'' ; nci-IPA, Quetzalcōātl, ket͡saɬˈkoːaːt͡ɬ (Modern Nahuatl pronunciation), in honorific form: ''Quetzalcōātzin'') is a deity in Aztec culture and literature whose name comes from the Nahu ...

for the local temple. In 1954 Rivera tried to be readmitted into the Mexican Communist Party. He had been expelled in part because of his support of

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...

, who had been exiled and assassinated years before in Mexico. Rivera was required to justify his AMORC activities. At the time, the Mexican Communist Party excluded persons involved in

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and regarded AMORC as suspiciously similar to Freemasonry. Rivera told his questioners that, by joining AMORC, he wanted to infiltrate a typical “Yankee” organization on behalf of Communism. However, he also claimed that AMORC was “essentially

materialist Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialis ...

, insofar as it only admits different states of energy and matter, and is based on ancient Egyptian occult knowledge from Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti.”Diego Rivera, ''Arte y política'', México: Grijalbo, 1979, p. 354. .

Representation in other media

Diego Rivera has been portrayed in several films. He was played by Rubén Blades in '' Cradle Will Rock'' (1999), by Alfred Molina in '' Frida'' (2002), and (in a brief appearance) by José Montini in '' Eisenstein in Guanajuato'' (2015).

Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) is an American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the Congo in her early childhood. Kingsolver earned degrees in biology at DePauw University and the Univers ...

's novel, ''

The Lacuna ''The Lacuna'' is a 2009 novel by Barbara Kingsolver. It is Kingsolver's sixth novel, and won the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction and the Library of Virginia Literary Award. It was shortlisted for the 2011 International Dublin Literary Award. Plo ...

'' features Rivera, Kahlo, and Leon Trotsky as major characters.

Gallery

Paintings

File:Diego Rivera - Self-portrait with Broad-Brimmed Hat - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Self-portrait with Broad-Brimmed Hat'', 1907, 84.5 × 61.5 cm.

Museo Dolores Olmedo The Museo Dolores Olmedo (or the Dolores Olmedo Museum) is an art museum in Xochimilco, Mexico City, based on the collection of the Mexican businesswoman Dolores Olmedo. The museum will be relocated to Chapultepec in 2024. History In 1962, Do ...

File:Diego Rivera - Avila Morning (The Ambles Valley) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Avila Morning (The Ambles Valley)'', 1908, 97 × 123 cm.

Museo Nacional de Arte The Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) ( en, National Museum of Art) is the Mexico, Mexican national art museum, located in the Centro (Mexico City), historical center of Mexico City. The museum is housed in a neoclassical building at No. 8 Tacuba, C ...

File:Diego Rivera - Street in Ávila (Ávila Landscape) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Street in Ávila (Ávila Landscape)'', 1908, 129 × 141 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - El Picador - Google Art Project.jpg, ''El Picador'', 1909, 177 × 113 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - The House on the Bridge - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The House on the Bridge'', 1909, 147 × 121 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - After the Storm (The Grounded Ship) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''After the Storm (The Grounded Ship)'', 1910, 120.7 × 146.7 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - Landscape - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Landscape'', 1911.

Frida Kahlo Museum The Frida Kahlo Museum (Spanish: ''Museo Frida Kahlo''), also known as the Blue House (''La Casa Azul'' for the structure's cobalt-blue walls, is a historic house museum and art museum dedicated to the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo ...

. File:Diego Rivera - Portrait of Adolfo Best Maugard - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of Adolfo Best Maugard'', 1913, 227.5 × 161.5 cm.

File:Diego Rivera, 1912-13, Adoration of the Virgin and Child, oil and encaustic on canvas, 150 x 120 cm, private collection.jpg, ''Adoration of the Virgin and Child'', 1912–13, oil and encaustic on canvas, 150 × 120 cm, private collection File:Diego Rivera - The Sun Breaking through the Mist - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Sun Breaking through the Mist'', 1913, 83.5 × 59 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - The Woman at the Well - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Woman at the Well'', 1913, 145 × 125 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - The Alarm Clock - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Alarm Clock'', 1914.

File:Diego Rivera, 1914, Two Women (Dos Mujeres, portrait of Angelina Beloff and Maria Dolores Bastian ), oil on canvas, 197.5 x 161.3 cm, The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas.jpg, ''Two Women (Dos Mujeres, Portrait of Angelina Beloff and Maria Dolores Bastian)'', 1914, 197.5 × 161.3 cm.

Arkansas Arts Center The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA), formerly known as the Arkansas Arts Center, is an art museum located in MacArthur Park, Little Rock, Arkansas. The museum is undergoing an expansion and renovation. During this time, it is closed to the ...

File:Diego Rivera, 1914, Portrait de Messieurs Kawashima et Foujita, oil and collage on canvas, 78.5 x 74 cm, private collection.jpg, ''Portrait de Messieurs Kawashima et Foujita'', 1914, oil and collage on canvas, 78.5 × 74 cm. Private collection File:Diego Rivera - Young Man with a Fountain Pen - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Young Man with a Fountain Pen'', 1914, 79.5 × 63.5 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - El Rastro - Google Art Project.jpg, ''El Rastro'', 1915, 27.5 × 38.5 cm.

File:RamónGómezdelaSerna.JPG, '' Portrait of Ramón Gómez de la Serna'', 1915, 109.6 × 90.2 cm. Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires File:Diego Rivera - Zapata-style Landscape - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Zapata-style Landscape'', 1915, 145 × 125 cm.

File:Diego Rivera, c.1915, Portrait of Marevna, oil on canvas, 145.7 x 112.7 cm, Art Institute of Chicago.jpg, ''Portrait of Marevna'', c.1915, 145.7 × 112.7 cm.

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

File:Diego Rivera - Seated Woman (Women with the Body of a Guitar) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Seated Woman (Women with the Body of a Guitar)'', 1915–16.

File:Diego Rivera - Urban Landscape - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Urban Landscape'', 1916.

File:Diego Rivera, 1916, Still Life with Tulips (Naturaleza Muerta con Tulipanes), oil on canvas, 67.8 x 53.7cm.jpg, ''Still Life with Tulips'' (''Naturaleza Muerta con Tulipanes''), 1916, oil on canvas, 67.8 × 53.7 cm File:Diego Rivera - Knife and Fruit in Front of the Window - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Knife and Fruit in Front of the Window'', 1917, 91.8 × 92.4 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - Still Life with Utensils - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Still Life with Utensils'', 1917, 71 × 54 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - The Mathematician - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Mathematician'', 1919, 115.5 × 80.5 cm.

File:Diego Rivera, c.1916, Maternidad, Angelina y et niño Diego, oil on canvas, 134.5 x 88.5 cm, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil.jpg, ''Maternidad, Angelina y el niño Diego'' (''Motherhood, Angelina and the Child Diego''), c. August 1916, oil on canvas, 134.5 × 88.5 cm, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil. This work forms part of Rivera's Crystal Cubist period

Murals

File:Murales Rivera - Ausbeutung durch die Spanier 1 perspective.jpg, Mural of exploitation of Mexico by Spanish conquistadores, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City (1929–1945) File:Murales Rivera - Markt in Tlatelolco 3.jpg, Mural of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City File:La Gran Tenochtitlan.JPG, Mural of the Aztec market of Tlatelolco, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City File:Murales Rivera - Gold.jpg, Mural showing Aztec production of gold, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City File:Celebrations and Ceremonies Totonaca Culture full.JPG, Mural showing Totonaca celebrations and ceremonies, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City File:Mexico - Bellas Artes - Fresque Riviera « Man at the Crossroads ».JPG, Detail of ''Man, Controller of the Universe'', fresco at

showing

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

File:Detalle de Lenin.jpg, Detail of ''Man, Controller of the Universe'', fresco at

showing

File:The Kid - Diego Rivera.jpg, Mural (detail) ''

Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central ''Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central'' or ''Dream of a Sunday Afternoon at Alameda Central Park'' is a 15.6 meter wide mural created by Diego Rivera. It was painted between the years 1946 and 1947, and is the principal work of th ...

'' in Mexico City, featuring Rivera and

standing by

La Calavera Catrina ''La Calavera Catrina ''("Dapper Skull") or ''Catrina'' ''La Calavera Garbancera'' ("Elegant Skull") is a 1910–1913 zinc etching by the Mexican printmaker, cartoon illustrator and lithographer José Guadalupe Posada. Originally a satirizat ...

(width: 15.6 m) File:Mural Diego Rivera.jpg, Mural at Palacio de Gobierno, Mexico City File:RiveraMuralNationalPalace.jpg, Diego Rivera's mural '' The History of Mexico'' at the

in Mexico City File:Murales Rivera - Treppenhaus 6.jpg, Detail of '' The History of Mexico'' showing betrayed revolution at Palacio Nacional,

File:Palacio de Bellas Artes - Mural El Hombre in cruce de caminos Rivera 3.jpg, Recreation of '' Man at the Crossroads'' (renamed '' Man, Controller of the Universe''), originally created in 1934 (detail) File:Palacio_Nacional_Murals_view.JPG, View of the Murals by Diego Rivera in the Palacio Nacional Image:Rivera detroit industry north.jpg, '' Detroit Industry'', North Wall, 1932–33. Detroit Institute of Arts Image:Rivera detroit industry south.jpg, '' Detroit Industry, South Wall'', 1932–33. Detroit Institute of Arts

Sculptures

File:Cárcamo de Dolores 09.jpg, Tlaloc Fountain in

Cárcamo de Dolores The ''Cárcamo de Dolores'' ( Sump of Dolores) is a hydraulic structure located on the Second Section of Chapultepec Park, in Mexico City, comprising the building designed by architect Ricardo Rivas, inside the originally underwater mural ''Agua, ...

, Mexico City (1951) File:Diego Rivera's Mural in Acapulco, Mexico.jpg, 3D mural of Quetzalcóatl in the ''Exekatlkalli'' (Casa de los Vientos) in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

, Guerrero (1957)

References

External links

''Creation''
(1931). From the Collections of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

''Trials of the Hero-Twins''
(1931) From the Collections at the

''Human Sacrifice Before Tohil''
(1931) From the Collections at the

Cubist paintings by Rivera
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Diego 1886 births 1957 deaths Académie Julian alumni Artists from Mexico City Cubist artists Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" faculty Frida Kahlo Latin American artists of indigenous descent Members of El Colegio Nacional (Mexico) Mexican atheists Mexican communists Mexican muralists Mexican people of indigenous peoples descent Mexican people of Spanish-Jewish descent Mexican people of Spanish descent Mexican people of Portuguese descent Mexican Trotskyists Artists from Guanajuato People from Cuernavaca People from Guanajuato City People from Morelos Political artists Social realist artists Painters of the Return to Order Federal Art Project artists 19th-century Mexican people 20th-century Mexican painters 20th-century male artists Mexican male painters Academy of San Carlos alumni