Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large

fresco Fresco ( 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 plaster, the painting become ...

es helped establish the mural movement in Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, 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'' ...

s in, among other places,

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Chapingo, and

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi language, Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state, state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican civilizatio ...

, Mexico; and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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 (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. That was before he completed his 27-mural series known as '' Detroit Industry Murals''. Rivera had four wives and numerous children, including at least one illegitimate 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 Culture of Mexico, the country' ...

, with whom he had a volatile relationship that continued until her death. His previous two marriages, ending in divorce, were respectively to a fellow artist and a novelist, and his final marriage was to his agent. Due to his importance in the country's art history, the government of Mexico declared Rivera's works as '' monumentos históricos''. As of 2018, Rivera holds the record for highest price at auction for a work by a Latin American artist. The 1931 painting ''The Rivals'', part of the record-setting collection of Peggy Rockefeller and

David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American economist and investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Bank, Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of ...

, sold for US$9.76 million.

Personal life

Rivera was born on December 8, 1886, in

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, to María del Pilar Barrientos and Diego Rivera Acosta, a well-to-do couple. His twin brother Carlos died at the age of two. 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 their descendants. To safeguard the Old Christian popula ...

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

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 that 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 family

After moving to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Rivera met Angelina Beloff, an artist from the pre-Revolutionary Russian Empire. They married in 1911, and had a son, Diego (1916–1918), who died young. During that time, Rivera also had a relationship with painter Maria Vorobieff-Stebelska, who gave birth to a daughter named Marika Rivera in 1918 or 1919. Rivera divorced Beloff and married Guadalupe Marín as his second wife in June 1922, after having returned to Mexico. They had two daughters, 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 Marín, 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

. 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 70. He was buried at the Panteón de Dolores in Mexico City.

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 said, "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 in

. 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, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. After arriving in Europe in 1907, Rivera first went to

Madrid, Spain Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

to study with Eduardo Chicharro. From there he went to Paris, a destination for young European and American artists and writers, who settled in inexpensive flats in

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. It is split betwee ...

. 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 of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern art, modern style characterized by a surre ...

painted his portrait in 1914. His circle of close friends included Ilya Ehrenburg, Chaïm Soutine, Modigliani and his wife

Jeanne Hébuterne Jeanne Hébuterne (; 6 April 1898 – 26 January 1920) was a French painter and art model best known as the frequent subject and Common-law marriage, common-law wife of the artist Amedeo Modigliani. She died by suicide two days after Modigliani ...

, Max Jacob, gallery owner Léopold Zborowski, and Moise Kisling. 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 which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

, a movement led by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

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 sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with ...

. 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 Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century 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 a ...

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

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

es. After

José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexicans, Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial pers ...

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 Mexican artists as José Clemente Orozco,

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 in Mexico City while guarding himself with a pistol against

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

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 The Mexican Communist Party (, PCM) was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1917 as the Socialist Workers' Party (, PSO) by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian revolutionary. The PSO changed its name to the ''Mexican Communist ...

(including its Central Committee). His murals, subsequently painted only in

, are about Mexican society and reflected the country's 1910 Revolution. Rivera developed his own native style based on large, simplified figures and bold colors with an

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

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 ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

s of the

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

, tells stories. The mural (''In the Arsenal'') shows on the right-hand side Tina Modotti holding an ammunition belt and facing Julio Antonio Mella, in a light hat, and Vittorio Vidali 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,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

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 of Agriculture) at Chapingo near Texcoco (1925–1927), in the Cortés Palace in

(1929–30), and the National Palace in Mexico City (1929–30, 1935). Rivera painted murals in the main hall and corridor at the Chapingo Autonomous University 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: ) is a communist symbol representing proletarian solidarity between industrial and agricultural workers. It was first adopted during the Russian Revolution at the end of World War I, the hammer representing wo ...

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''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

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

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

in his book . The corpses of revolutionary heroes

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; 8 August 1879 – 10 April 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the insp ...

and Otilio Montano 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

In the autumn of 1927, Rivera went to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

. The following year, while still in the Soviet Union, he met American Alfred H. Barr Jr., 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, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

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, after the assassination of former president Álvaro Obregón the previous year, the government suppressed the

. That year Rivera was expelled from the party because of his suspected Trotskyite sympathies. In addition, observers noted that his 1928 mural ''In the Arsenal'' includes the figures of communists Tina Modotti, Cuban Julio Antonio Mella, and Italian Vittorio Vidali. After Mella was murdered in January 1929, allegedly by Stalinist

assassin Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

Vidali, Rivera was accused of having had advance knowledge of a planned attack. After divorcing his second 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'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

, where the US had a consulate. In September 1930, Rivera accepted a commission by architect Timothy L. Pflueger 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 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 at the San Francisco Art Institute. During that period, Rivera and Kahlo worked and lived at the studio of Ralph Stackpole, who had recommended Rivera to Pflueger. Rivera met Helen Wills Moody, 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 The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...

. Part of the cost was paid by Edsel Ford, scion of the entrepreneur. During the

McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...

of the 1950s, a large sign was placed in the courtyard defending the artistic merit of the murals while attacking his politics as "detestable." San-Angel-Casa-Rivera-Kahlo

His mural '' Man at the Crossroads'', originally a three-paneled work, begun as a commission for John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1933 for the

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

in New York City, was later destroyed. Because it included a portrait of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

, former leader of the Soviet Union and

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

pro-worker content, Rockefeller's son, the press, and some of the public protested, but the decision to destroy it was made by the management company. Anti-Communism ran high in some American circles, although many others in this period of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

had been drawn to the movement as offering hope to labor. When Rivera refused to remove Lenin from the painting, he was ordered to leave the US. One of Rivera's assistants managed to take a few photographs of the work so Diego was able to later recreate it. American poet

Archibald MacLeish Archibald MacLeish (May 7, 1892 – April 20, 1982) was an American poet and writer, who was associated with the modernist school of poetry. MacLeish studied English at Yale University and law at Harvard University. He enlisted in and saw action ...

wrote six "irony-laden" poems about the mural. ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

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

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

. Rivera released 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 hosts performing arts events, literature events and plastic arts galleries and exhibitions (including important permanent Mexican murals). "Bella ...

in Mexico City, calling this version '' Man, Controller of the Universe''. Rivera Mural going up at SFMOMA July 19 2021--photo by Steven Saylor

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'' 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, 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, a pioneer African-American artist, dancer, and textile designer. The mural and its archives are now held by City College of San Francisco. In 1946-47, Rivera painted ''A Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park'', a fresco that featured a fully elaborated figure of La Calavera Catrina. This character, which was created by José Guadalupe Posada, originally consisted of a print depicting the head and shoulders of a skeletal woman in a big hat. Rivera endowed his Catrina figure with indigenous features and thus transformed her into a nationalist icon. Catrina is the most common image associated with Day of the Dead.

Membership in AMORC

In 1926, Rivera became a member of AMORC, the

Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis AMORC (standing for, among others, the Ancient Mystical Order of the Rosy Cross or the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosæ Crucis) is a Rosicrucian organization founded by Harvey Spencer Lewis in the United States in 1915. It has lodges, chapters a ...

, an occult organization founded by American occultist

Harvey Spencer Lewis Harvey Spencer Lewis (November 25, 1883 – August 2, 1939) was an American Rosicrucianism, Rosicrucian writer, mysticism, mystic and the founder of AMORC. He led AMORC as its first leader (imperator) from its creation in 1915 until his death. ...

. 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 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,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

, 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 (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, 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 according to which matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materia ...

, insofar as it only admits different states of energy and matter, and is based on ancient Egyptian occult knowledge from Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti."

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 Frida, Frieda, or Freida may refer to: People and fictional characters *Frida (given name), any of several people or characters ** *Frieda (surname), any of several people or characters *Afroditi Frida (born 1964), Greek singer *Frida (singer) ...

'' (2002), and (in a brief appearance) by José Montini in '' Eisenstein in Guanajuato'' (2015). Barbara Kingsolver's novel, '' The Lacuna'' features Rivera, Kahlo, and Leon Trotsky as major characters. An important scene of the Netflix television series '' Sense8'' (Episode S1E8 ''Death Doesn't Let You Say Goodbye,'' broadcast in 2015) is played in the Anahuacalli Museum, called “Diego Rivera Museum” by the Lito character. He and his co-sensate, Nomi, discuss about Rivera sitting in front of what is supposed to be a sketch of Rivera's Man at the Crossroads mural for the Rockefeller Center, destroyed in 1933 by Rockefeller.

Autobiography

''My Life, My Art: An Autobiography'', by Diego Rivera, with Gladys March, was published posthumously in 1960. Beginning with a 1944 interview for a newspaper article, March "spent several months each year with Rivera, eventually filling 2,000 pages with his recollections and interpretations of his art and life", and compiled an autobiography, written in the first person.''My Art, My Life: An Autobiography''
/ref>

Gallery

Paintings

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 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) () 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, Col. Centro, Mexico City. It ...

Diego Rivera - Street in Ávila (Ávila Landscape) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Street in Ávila (Ávila Landscape)'', 1908, 129 × 141 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte Diego Rivera - El Picador - Google Art Project.jpg, ''El Picador'', 1909, 177 × 113 cm. Museo Dolores Olmedo Diego Rivera - The House on the Bridge - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The House on the Bridge'', 1909, 147 × 121 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte Diego Rivera - After the Storm (The Grounded Ship) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''After the Storm (The Grounded Ship)'', 1910, 120.7 × 146.7 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte Diego Rivera - Landscape - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Landscape'', 1911. Frida Kahlo Museum. Diego Rivera - Portrait of Adolfo Best Maugard - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of Adolfo Best Maugard'', 1913, 227.5 × 161.5 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte 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 Diego Rivera - The Sun Breaking through the Mist - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Sun Breaking through the Mist'', 1913, 83.5 × 59 cm. Museo Dolores Olmedo Diego Rivera - The Woman at the Well - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Woman at the Well'', 1913, 145 × 125 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte Diego Rivera - The Alarm Clock - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Alarm Clock'', 1914. Frida Kahlo Museum 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 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 Diego Rivera - Young Man with a Fountain Pen - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Young Man with a Fountain Pen'', 1914, 79.5 × 63.5 cm. Museo Dolores Olmedo Diego Rivera - El Rastro - Google Art Project.jpg, ''El Rastro'', 1915, 27.5 × 38.5 cm. Museo Dolores Olmedo RamónGómezdelaSerna.JPG, '' Portrait of Ramón Gómez de la Serna'', 1915, 109.6 × 90.2 cm. Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires Diego Rivera - Zapata-style Landscape - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Zapata-style Landscape'', 1915, 145 × 125 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte 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, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

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. Frida Kahlo Museum Diego Rivera - Urban Landscape - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Urban Landscape'', 1916. Frida Kahlo Museum 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 Le bock, Diego Rivera, 1917.jpg, ''Le bock'', 1917 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. Museo Dolores Olmedo Diego Rivera - Still Life with Utensils - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Still Life with Utensils'', 1917, 71 × 54 cm. Museo Dolores Olmedo Diego Rivera - The Mathematician - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Mathematician'', 1919, 115.5 × 80.5 cm. Museo Dolores Olmedo Diego Rivera, c.1916, Maternidad, Angelina y el 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 Las afueras de París, Diego Rivera, 1918.jpg, ''The Outskirts of Paris'', 1918 Naturaleza muerta con arrocera también conocida como naturaleza muerta con prensa de ajo, Diego Rivera, 1918.jpg, ''Still Life with Ricer also known as Still Life with Garlic Press'', 1918 Bañista de Tehuantepec, Diego Rivera, 1923.jpg, ''Bather of Tehuantepec'', 1923 Festival de flores, Diego Rivera, 1925.jpg, ''Flowers festival'', 1925 Cargadora con perro, Diego Rivera, 1927.jpg, ''Cargadora con perro'', 1927

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 , also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th annivers ...

, 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"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

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'' in Mexico City, featuring Rivera and

standing by La Calavera Catrina (width: 15.6 m) File:Mural Diego Rivera.jpg, Mural at the National Palace, Mexico City File:RiveraMuralNationalPalace.jpg, Diego Rivera's mural '' The History of Mexico'' at the National Palace 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.

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, 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 ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

, Guerrero, 1957

References

External links

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

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

''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 Academic staff of Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" 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 Mexican political artists Social realist artists Painters of the Return to Order Federal Art Project artists 20th-century Mexican painters 20th-century Mexican male artists Mexican male painters Academy of San Carlos alumni AMORC members Burials at the Panteón de Dolores