#30 - Flower Day by Diego Rivera
#30 – Biographical Sketch of Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera (1886 – 1957), was a cubist painter and muralist living in Mexico. Rivera, born
in Guanajuato, Mexico, was of Jewish Converso heritage and Catholic upbringing, but a professed
atheist and communist for most, of his life. He is said to be regarded in Latin America today as a folk
hero.
On his arrival in Europe in 1907 Rivera initially went to study in Barcelona, Spain, and from
there proceeded to Paris, France, to live and work with the great gathering of artists in Montparnasse,
especially at La Ruche, where his friend Amedeo Modigliani painted his portrait in 1914. Paris in
those years was witnessing the emergence of cubism in paintings by such eminent painters as Picasso,
Braque and Cezanne. From 1913 to 1918 Rivera himself enthusiastically embraced this new school of
art, as his masterly cubist paintings from this time demonstrate. His paintings began to attract
attention; and was able to display them at several exhibitions.
In 1920 Rivera left France and, returned in 1921 to Mexico, where he continued his prolific
career as an artist. Having been born in Guanajuato, he now became involved in the new Mexican
mural movement, and he began to experiment with fresco painting on large walls. Rivera soon
developed his own style of large, simplified figures and bold colors. He had also become interested in
left-wing politics, thus when he painted his first mural, he presented ethnic Mexican subjects in a
political context. Many of his murals deal symbolically with Mexican society and thought, after the
country's 1910 Revolution.
From a common-law marriage to the artist Angelina Beloff he had a son, Diego Jr., who did not
survive infancy, and from a relationship with the Russian emigrée painter Marie Vorobieff-Stebelska
(Marevna) he also had a daughter, Marika Rivera. His marriage to the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo
was childless after a miscarriage, but he nevertheless spent a rocky lifetime relationship with her.
They married for the first time in 1929, when he was 42 years old and she was 22; but owing to his
infidelity and violent temper they divorced in 1939, only to re-marry December 8, 1940 in San
Francisco, although their marriage was never to be conventional. After Kahlo's demise in 1954 Rivera
married once more, this time to publisher Emma Hurtado.
Rivera was a communist of Trotskyist learnings, which were the doctrines of the twentiethcentury Russian political leader Leon Trotsky, who believed that communism should depend on the
cooperation of the proletariats, or working class laborers, of all nations rather than on domination by
the Soviet Union. Trotsky's ideas were opposed by Joseph Stalin, the Soviet premier, who sent
Trotsky into exile, made him a nonperson, and eventually had him assassinated.
Having joined the International Communist League, Rivera became friends with Soviet exile
Leon Trotsky, who for a while moved into his home in Mexico, and had an alleged affair with Frida
Kahlo. Rivera eventually became angry with Trotsky, probably over the affair, and threw him out.
Shortly thereafter, Trotsky was assassinated in Mexico.
Almost a year after receiving national homage on the occasion of his 70th birthday, Diego
Rivera died in November of 1957 in Mexico City.
#30 – Additional Works by Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera. Self-Portrait Dedicated to Irene Rich. / Autorretrato dedicado a Irene Rich. 1941.
Oil on canvas. 61 x 43 cm. Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA, USA
Diego Rivera. The Day of the Dead. 1924. Fresco. Ministry of Education, Mexico City, Mexico
Diego Rivera. The Perpetual Renewal of the Revolutionary Struggle. / La constante renovación de la lucha
revolucionaria. 1926-7. Fresco. 3.54 x 3.57 m. Chapel, west wall, Autonomous University of Chapingo, Mexico
Diego Rivera. The History of Mexico - The World of Today and Tomorrow. 1929-35. Fresco. South wall, National Palace, Mexico City, Mexico
Diego Rivera. The History of Mexico. 1929-35. Fresco. West wall, left inner arch, National Palace, Mexico City, Mexico
#30 – Questions about Diego Rivera
1) What is the meaning of Trotskyist learnings?
a) communism should be second only to capitalism
b) communism is the opiate of the masses
c) communism should depend on the cooperation of the working class laborers of all nations
d) communism will lead to the success of the nobility
2) Why do you think when Rivera painted his first mural, he presented ethnic Mexican
subjects in a political context?
a) Rivera felt there should be a distinction between politics and art
b) Rivera had also become interested in left-wing politics
c) Rivera modeled his art after famous American capitalists
d) Rivera had also become interested in creating art for the church
3) Which statement best describes Rivera's rocky lifetime relationship and marriage to
the painter Frida Kahlo?
a) Rivera's infidelity and violent temper
b) she idolized his every move without question
c) his religious upbringing kept him faithful to God and his family
d) Frida was a quiet and shy seamstress
4) Based on the great gathering of artists in Montparnasse in Paris that witnessed the
emergence of cubism in paintings, which of these conclusions is accurate?
a) Rivera was disgusted by the heresy and returned to his native Mexico
b) Rivera felt his Colombian heritage was the true center of his art
c) Rivera enthusiastically rallied against the debauchery that was cubism
d) Rivera enthusiastically embraced this new school of art, and his paintings began to attract
attention
5) Which of the following is a reason for Rivera to become angry with Trotsky, and
throw him out resulting in Trotsky's assassination in Mexico?
a) Trotsky denounced his religious beliefs
b) Trotsky had an affair with Frida Kahlo
c) Trotsky developed romantic feelings for Diego
d) Trotsky had an affair with Rivera's daughter