diego rivera, the beginning• Diego Rivera was born in Guanajuato, Mexico in 1886.

• He was an imaginative child who loved animals.• He spent a lot of time in the forest with his pet goat

• He claimed to make friends with all the animals—even the dangerous & poisonous ones

Hurry up and take the photo—I’ve got poisonous animals to train to do my

bidding.

diego rivera, the beginning• As he grew older, Diego began drawing• He loved to draw inventions he created in his imagination and parts of his toys that he took apart

• He drew everywhere—including the walls!• His father covered an entire room in canvas for him

Self Portrait (1907)

I don’t always paint self portraits.

But when I do, I’m smoking a pipe and having

a beer.Stay thirsty,

amigos.-Diego Rivera

The Most Interesting

Muralist in Mexico

A 10 year old with a plan• Diego decided he would be an artist at the age of 10• He was very stubborn and there was no changing his mind

• He was an excellent student & his parents sent him to the San Carlos Art Academy in Mexico City• He learned how to draw & paint

• He learned techniques of the great artists of Europe The Bullfighter (1909)

There was something

missing from the curriculum at the art academy:Mexican

Art

And the Mexican artists?• Diego found his own teacher to learn about Mexican art.

• He watched José Posada create drawings and prints at his shop• Posada created energetic depictions of Mexican legends, unlike anything Diego had ever seen

• He also created political cartoonsGran Calavera Eléctrica (Grand Electric Skull)

by José Posada, 1900-1913

The mood in mexico• During the time Diego was growing up, the Mexican people were suffering• Not enough money to live/enjoy life

• Few people could read

• Many people lived like slaves

• The government wasn’t working

• As Diego grew up, this bothered him more and more

Collage of Mexican Revolution (Wikipedia)

Rivera on the riviera• At the age of 20, Diego left for Europe.

• He befriended famous artists like Pablo Picasso & Amedeo Modigliani• Their works influenced Diego’s

• He was doing well in Europe, but knew something was missing…

House Over the Bridge (1909)

Europe loves me—big deal. I

want more.

The people’s artist• Diego did not like that his work was only being enjoyed by the well-educated, wealthy people

• He believed that art was meant for everyone—especially the poor, working people• Art could teach them about their past & give them hope for the future

The Arrival of Cortés (1951)

So, I’m not sure Cortes

was the hero he’s

made out to be.

Italian inspiration• The walls of Italian churches are decorated with frescoes—large paintings direct ly on the wall for everyone to see

• Diego knew his purpose• He would return to Mexico and make the same type of paintings for ALL people to enjoy

The History of Mexico (1929-1935)

The mural man• Upon returning to Mexico, Diego was asked to paint a large mural for a prominent school.

• Tit led, Creation, the mural is 23 feet x 39 feet

• Everyone LOVED it!Creation (1922-1923)

The mural man• Requests for more murals came pouring in

• Diego created his own style, more Mexican in feeling (not European)

• Other artists like David Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco began creating murals in Mexico

The Flower Seller (unknown)

Art as social commentary• Diego painted leaders who were fighting to improve things in Mexico

• Some people didn’t agree with the political paintings & would throw rocks at the murals & the artist!• Diego eventually armed himself for protection

The Uprising (1931)

Rivera in america• In the 1930s, Diego was invited to paint several murals in the US

• Detroit Industry is on the walls of the art museum in Detroit Michigan• He found beauty in the machinery as well as the people

Detroit Industry (1932-33)

Rivera don’t care-a• One of Diego’s murals, Man at the Crossroads, was literally torn off the wall in the US

• He insisted on painting Russian revolutionary leader, Vladimir Lenin, who was unpopular in the US• Diego Rivera was a lifelong member of the Communist Party Man, Controller of the Universe (1933-34)TEAR IT

DOWN!

GET OUT,

COMMIE!GO HOME! BOO!

Rivera don’t care-a• The mural was meant to be on the ground floor of Rockefeller Center in New York City.

• Diego had been concerned that Rockefeller might destroy the work, so he had an assistant take photos.• He recreated a smaller replica of the mural, retit led Man, Controller of the Universe, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City

• The new version contains Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, (all associated with Communisim) and Charles Darwin (Father of the Theory of Evolution)

• To further insult the Rockefellers, Rivera painted John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (who was opposed to alcohol) drinking in a nightclub with a woman and above their heads is a dish of syphilis bacteria.

Lenin Engels, Marx, and TrotskyDarwin Rockefeller

diegorivera.org

Man, controller of the universe

Outrageous until the end• During his 71 years, Diego and his wife Frida Kahlo (also a famous artist) attracted a lot of attention• Not all of the attention was good

• Diego painted whatever he felt—no matter what anyone thought

• Illustrating the history & beauty of the Mexican people was most important to him

Detail from Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park (1948)

Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo sometimes painted each other in their

works

Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park (1948)