Museo Mural Diego Rivera is a museum in

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 ...

where

Diego Rivera 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 frescoes helped establish the ...

's 1946–47 mural '' Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central'' is located.

Location

It is located at Balderas Avenue number 202, in the

historic center of Mexico City The historic center of Mexico City ( es, Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México), also known as the Centro or Centro Histórico, is the central neighborhood in Mexico City, Mexico, focused on Zócalo or main plaza and extending in all direction ...

Objective

It is the goal of the museum to preserve and disseminate Diego Rivera's artistic work, as well as organize temporary exhibits and conferences and events, talks, concerts and other art activities.

History

The museum was built in 1986 as a space to exhibit Diego Rivera's 1946–47 mural ''Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central'' (''Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the

Alameda Central Alameda Central is a public urban park in downtown Mexico City. Created in 1592, the Alameda Central is the oldest public park in the Americas. It is located in Cuauhtémoc borough, adjacent to the Palacio de Bellas Artes, between Juárez Aven ...

''). It had previously been housed at the Hotel del Prado, which was severely damaged in the

1985 Mexico City earthquake The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico City area a ...

. In order to transport the mural from the hotel, the wall that supported it was cut; later, a metal structure was used to support its 15-ton weight, still preserved to date. The museum's building and its facilities were built around the mural, after it was placed at its current location. The museum was inaugurated on February 19, 1988.

Management

The museum is administered by the

Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura The Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL, en, National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature), located in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, is the Mexican institution in charge of coordinating artistic and cultural ...

(INBAL, Spanish: ''National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature''), which in turn is funded by the federal government.

The mural

In 1946, architect

Carlos Obregón Santacilia Carlos Obregón Santacilia (1896–1961) was a Mexican art déco architect. He trained at the Academy of San Carlos during the Mexican Revolution. He claimed a distinguished Mexican heritage, as great grandson of Benito Juárez and grand n ...

asked Diego Rivera to create a mural for the Hotel del Prado's Versalles dining room. The subject for the mural was the

, which was across the street from the hotel. The artist made a fresco of 4.70 x 15.6 m. It was finished in 1947. The mural shows more than 150 figures, some of them leading characters the history of Mexico: Hernán Cortés, Benito Juárez, Maximiliano de Habsburgo, Francisco I. Madero, Porfirio Díaz. In addition, individuals from different social classes appear, including street vendors and revolutionaries. It also shows

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, ...

and other wives of the artist, as well as some of his daughters; the Alameda Central itself can be seen in the background. The painter said: " he muralis composed of memories of my life, my childhood and my youth and goes from 1895 to 1910. All the characters are dreaming, some asleep on benches and others, walking and talking ":

Exhibits to date

Previous exhibits:

References

External links

Página web del Museo Mural Diego Rivera
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mural Diego Rivera, Museum Art museums and galleries in Mexico Biographical museums in Mexico Historic center of Mexico City Museums devoted to one artist Murals in Mexico