1. Diego Rivera: Art for the People!

2. Diego’s view of an artist:
“An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to the core. If the artist can’t feel everything that humanity feels, if the artist isn’t capable of loving until he forgets himself and sacrifices himself if necessary, if he won’t put down his magic brush and head the fight against the oppressor, then he isn’t a great artist.”

3. Who was Diego Rivera? Born: December 8th, 1886 in Guanajuato, Mexico
Died 1957.
Greatest Mexican painter of the 20th century.
Famous for his murals in public places.

4. What inspired his art?
Rivera believed that history was the story of the working class whose lives were spent on war and industry. He saw the answer to their struggle was in communism thru Lenin.
Man at the Crossroads of capitalism, socialism, science and industry. Destroyed in 1934.

5. The Elephant and the Dove
Diego’s personal life also made him famous. He was married to the artist Frida Kahlo but both had frequent affairs which made the relationship very unstable. They even divorced at one time, but later re-married.

6. Diego’s art
This a detail of a mural in capital in Mexico City reliving Mexico’s history. What details of their history do you see?

7. Who is pictured in the center of this mural?
What is the message Diego is giving?
The Arsenal, 1928

8. Diego is giving quite a different message with these pictures of flower vendors, or is he?