The History of Mexico (National Palace)
1935 · Fresco · 745 × 890 cm
The Flower Carrier
1935 · Oil and tempera on Masonite · 121 × 121 cm
Detroit Industry (North Wall)
1933 · Fresco · 540 × 1372 cm
Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park
1947 · Fresco · 480 × 1500 cm
Man, Controller of the Universe
1934 · Fresco · 480 × 1145 cm
Diego Rivera (1886–1957) was a Mexican painter who, along with David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco, founded the Mexican Mural Movement. He is famous for his large-scale frescoes depicting Mexican society, history, and the struggles of the working class. His murals adorn major public buildings in Mexico and the United States.
His most celebrated works include the murals at the National Palace in Mexico City (1929–1945), depicting the history of Mexico; Detroit Industry Murals (1932–1933) at the Detroit Institute of Arts; Man at the Crossroads (1933, destroyed and recreated as Man, Controller of the Universe, 1934); and Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park (1947).
In 1933, Rivera was commissioned to paint a mural at Rockefeller Center in New York City. When he included a portrait of Lenin, Nelson Rockefeller demanded its removal. Rivera refused, was paid in full, and dismissed. The mural, Man at the Crossroads, was destroyed in 1934. Rivera recreated it as Man, Controller of the Universe at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
Rivera and Kahlo married in 1929, divorced in 1939, and remarried in 1940. Their relationship was passionate and tumultuous, marked by mutual infidelities, creative inspiration, and deep emotional connection. Rivera called Kahlo the greatest painter of their era, while Kahlo's art was profoundly shaped by their relationship.
Rivera died on November 24, 1957, at the age of 70, from heart failure in Mexico City. Despite his wish to be cremated and have his ashes mixed with Frida Kahlo's (who had died in 1954), he was interred at the Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres, Mexico's pantheon for distinguished citizens.
This page features public domain works by Diego Rivera and is not managed by the artist.
Discover isee.art