nPostednon December 8, 2015
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nHenmay be the most famous Mexican artist of all time.
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nHenwas married to another one of the most famous Mexican artists of allntime. (Twice!)
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| Self-portrait of Frida Kahlo, who married Diego Rivera two times. |
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nInwas struck by something said in this short bio – that Riveraninfluences how we see Mexico, and how Mexico sees itself!nThat’s…pretty amazing, if you think about it!
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nBornnin 1886 in Guanajuato, Mexico, Diego Rivera had Jewish ancestry, butnhis ancestors had been forced to convert to Catholicism; it is,nperhaps, not very surprising that Rivera was a nonbeliever. He beganndrawing on the walls of his house at age three. Instead of punishingnhim, his parents installed chalkboards and canvas on the walls.
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nWithnthat kind of support for his wall art, Rivera grew up to do this:
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| Diego Rivera grew up to make a lot of money for drawing and painting on walls! |
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nDiegonRivera studied painting at age 10 in Mexico City, and in Madrid,nSpain, and Paris, France, as a young adult. After a decade in Paris,nhe traveled through Italy studying art. One thing he was interestednin was Renaissance frescoes. (Frescoes are murals painted onnfreshly-laid, wet lime plaster. The pigments in the paint merge withnthe plaster and, by the time the plaster fully sets, is fully a partnof the wall rather than being painted “on” the wall.)
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nInn1921, Rivera returned to Mexico and began painting murals in thenfresco style. n
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nRivera’snart is generally LARGE.
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nItntells stories.
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nItnis influenced by Azteca and Maya art.
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| Above, Rivera’s portrayal of Native Mexican people. Below, Aztec portrayal of themselves. |
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nItnis political and often controversial.
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nHisnmurals are not all in Mexico; there is one in San Francisco, one innDetroit, and one in New York City.
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| This mural appears in the San Francisco Art Institute. |
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nOkay,nI found this interesting: Rivera’s most controversial painting wasnbegun in 1933 for the Rockefeller Center in New York City. Riveranincluded a portrait of communist Russian leader Vladimir Lenin in thenmural. Rockefeller was upset and demanded that Rivera paint over thatnpart of the mural. Rivera refused. n
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| This photo shows a recreation of the controversial mural. |
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nSonRockefeller kicked him off the project.
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nOnenof Rivera’s assistants managed to take a few photos of the mural. Thenmural itself was supposed to be destroyed, but there are rumors thatnit was just covered over.
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nRiveranwas paid in full for the mural, although a commission to paint anmural at the Chicago World’s Fair was canceled because of thencontroversy. Rivera was able to use the photos to duplicate the muralnelsewhere, and he recreated the mural in Mexico City. What I foundnparticularly interesting was that he released a statement that henwould use the money he was paid for the mural to repaint the samenmural for free anywhere and everywhere he was asked to do so! n
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| Diego Rivera |
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nThisncontroversy has been written about in articles and poems, and it hasnbeen portrayed in movies. The dispute became part of the discussionnof important issues about artistic freedom versus the rights of artnpatrons to see their visions carried out by the artists they hire…
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nAlsonon this date:
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nPretendnto Be a Time Traveler Day
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nBlessingnof the Waters Day in Uruguay
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nScientistnJan Ingenhousz’s birthday
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nRocknmusician Jim Morrison’s birthday
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nPlannahead:
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Checknout my Pinterest pages on:
Checknout my Pinterest pages on:
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in December
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJanuaryn birthdays
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