The greatest Mexican artist of the 20 th Century.

 Was born in Guanajuato, Mexico in  Began painting at the age of two.  After moving to Mexico City, Diego began painting at the Academy of San Carlos at the age of ten.

 Went to military school for two weeks before enrolling full-time at the Academy.  After six years, he left the school due to his unhappiness with the art director.  Was offered a scholarship to Europe from Teodoro Dehesa, governor of Vera Cruz.

 Studied for two years in Barcelona, Spain under the tutelage of Chicharro, a famous Spanish painter.  Moved to Paris, France, where he lived for a little over a decade.  While in Paris, Diego studied the Cubists, including Picasso and Cezanne.

 After feeling disheartened with the exclusivity of the art world, Rivera left Paris for Italy.  Here, he fell in love with the Italian frescoes, or murals.  These were found on the outside of churches, where they could be enjoyed by everyone.

 In 1921, President Alvaro Obregon and Minister of Education Jose Vasconcelos initiated a public art program.  Rivera, along with David Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco, became the leader of the Mexican Muralist Renaissance.

 Murals brought art to the masses.  Celebrated Mexican heritage from early Mesoamerica through the Revolution.  Rivera painted over 125 murals in 4 years.

 In 1929, Rivera was named head of the Department of Plastic Crafts at the Ministry of Education.  Started the Labor Union of Technical Workers, Painters, and Sculptors.

 In 1930, Rivera created his first 2 murals, at the American Stock Exchange Luncheon Club and the California School of Fine Arts.  Like most of his work, these murals focused on the struggles of the working class.

 In 1932, Rivera began one of his greatest works, The Detroit Industry, commissioned by Henry Ford for the Detroit Institute of Art.  It depicts the industrial life in the United States, the auto industry, and covers four entire walls.

 Rivera caused a stir after painting Lenin, the leader of the Soviet Union, into the mural entitled Man at the Crossroads, which was commissioned by Rockefeller for the RCA building.  He was forced to stop, the mural was never finished, and it was chipped off the wall and destroyed in 1934.

 In the late 1940’s, Rivera completed a mural at the Hotel del Prado, Spain, which included the phrase, “God does not exist.”  Due to this phrase, the mural was closed to the public for nine years.

 In 1952, another mural was removed for controversy.  Rivera painted Stalin and Mao Tsetung into the mural, The Nightmare of War and the Dream of Peace, at the Palacio Nacional de Bellas Artes.

 Diego Rivera was married 4 times, most famously to Frida Kahlo (twice!), another Mexican artist.  Died at the age of seventy in 1957 from a heart attack.

 Diego Rivera Prints, 8 November  American Masters. Diego Rivera, About the Artist, 8 November /episodes/diego-rivera/about-the-artist/64/ /episodes/diego-rivera/about-the-artist/64/