1000 Museums

Mexican painter and muralist Diego Rivera (b. 1886—d. 1957) was talented at an early age, and would be looked up to as an artist who was an influencer in the twentieth century. However, he suffered much in his early age, just as many artists back then did. Rivera and his family moved from his birth place to Guanajuato, Mexico after the death of his twin brother. Rivera’s parents encouraged his artistic ability and he received a scholarship to study art, traveling to France among other places, to see a variety of other art and meet other painters. This helped him in creating his own art when he came back.

As a young adult living by himself, Diego tried his hand at Cubism, travelled to Europe and the United States many times, and joined the Communist party. In Mexico, he met Frida Kahlo, an artist herself, who became his wife. His works of art were mainly about his political stance at that point in time; he was a communist through and through.

Rivera gained many a commission, including a Rockefeller Center fresco he painted but did not finish because it was torn down, mainly since it included Lenin. He created an exponential amount of frescos, was a celebrated artist in Mexico, had many retrospectives, and furthered President Roosevelt’s WPA and New Deal program.

Rivera died in Mexico City, Mexico two years after Frida Kahlo, from heart disease, following the seventieth celebration of his birthday, leaving his third wife to survive him. He changed art and how the public viewed it.