Diego Rivera
Painter
1886 – 1957
Diego María de la Concepción Juan
Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y
Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez
Diego Rivera was born in
Guanajuato, Mexico in 1886.
When he was 6 years old, his
family moved to Mexico City.
Diego loved to draw, so his
father made a studio for him by
covering the walls with black
canvas so he could draw on
them with chalk. At age 10, he
enrolled in night classes at an
art school, but he was expelled
for participating in revolts. At 16,
he started his career as a
painter.
He traveled to Europe
in 1909, where he
was exposed to
different kinds of art
and artists.
He settled in Paris,
where he painted in
the style of the
Cubists (like
Picasso), with large
areas of color and
simple forms.
He became interested in the works of the Renaissance artists and the
fresco style of painting (paint on wet plaster). Rivera liked this kind of art
because it could be painted on a wall (a mural) and made available to
everyone to see.
In 1922, he joined the
Mexican Communist party.
His murals used bold colors
and simplified figures. They
told stories about revolution
and politics, reflecting
Rivera’s own radical political
ideas.
His mural for the Secretariat
of Public Education in
Mexico City consisted of 124
frescoes, it took 6 years to
complete.
En el Arsenal (1928)
Common Themes/Images
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Mexico’s AmerIndian heritage
CalaLillies
Peasants/working class
Automation/industry/Assembly
Line
 Vague faces
 Curvaceous human figures
Rivera’s mural at the National Palace in Mexico City
shows images of Mexico’s history
Mural depicting Mexico’s history at the National Palace in Mexico City
Invited to the United States
by an architect in San
Francisco and painted
murals for the San
Francisco Stock Exchange
and the California School
for Fine Art. He was then
invited to Detroit where
Edsel Ford hired him to
paint a mural at his Ford
Motor Plant.
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera
In 1929, Rivera was expelled from the Mexican
Communist party. In that year, he also married
art student Frida Kahlo (his 3rd wife) – he was
42, she was 22. Because of his infidelity, their
marriage didn’t last.
Because of his political
views, some of his
murals were not
accepted by the
people. This one, which
included the face of
Russian Communist
leader Vladimir Lenin
was painted for
Rockefeller Center in
New York. Rivera was
asked to remove the
face of Lenin but
refused. Nelson
Rockefeller told him to
stop painting, paid him
in full, and covered it
up.
Man at the Crossroads
(1933)
Close up of face of
Lenin
Rivera and his
assistants returned late
at night and destroyed
the mural with axes.
The flower carrier (1942)
When cancer and a stroke left his
right arm paralyzed, he continued to
paint with his left hand. He died of
heart failure in 1957 at the age of 71.
Tomb of diego rivera in the
Rotunda of Illustrious
persons inside the Panteón
Dolores
Additional Websites
 http://www.biography.com/peo
ple/diego-rivera9459446#synopsis
 Click here and view a 4 minute
video on Diego
 http://www.diegorivera.com/
 Click on the “web museum” link on
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