ART 110 – Art Appreciation
Assignment #2 – Research an Artist
The Early Life of the Artist
1. When was the artist born? Diego Rivera was born on December 8, 1886. (Wiki)
2. Where was the artist born? Rivera was born into a well off family in Guanajuato City, Guanajuato, Mexico. (Wiki)
3. Note any information you were able to find on the parents of the artist. Rivera’s maternal linage stemmed from Jews who had converted to Roman Catholicism. His father’s side came from Spanish nobility. (Wiki)
4. Did the artist have any brothers or sisters? Rivera was born with a twin brother, Jose Carlos, who died before he was two years old. He also had a sister, Maria del Pilar Rivera, who was 4-5 years younger than he was. (diegorivera.com)
5. What were some of the significant childhood experiences in the early life of the artist? Rivera enrolled in his first art classes at ten years old. By thirteen, his father forces him into military college, but after only two short weeks he is allowed to enroll in regular classes in San Carlos. (diegorivera.com)
6. Note any information on the education of the artist. At the age of twenty, Rivera received a four year scholarship for European study and begins training under Spanish realist Eduardo Chicharro. (diegorivera.com)
7. What was the artist’s early career like? Was it as an artist or was it in another field? By age eighteen, Diego was painting both figures and landscapes, similar to the manner of his teacher, Jose Maria Velasco. Two years later his first works are featured in an exhibition at San Carlos. (diegorivera.com)

Young Adult Life and Artistic Beginnings
1. Did the artist marry? If so, note any information on the marriage. When Rivera was twenty-three and staying in Paris, he made a summer trip to Bruges, where he meets Angeline Beloff, a Russian artist who will later become his common-law wife. Diego left Angeline in Paris in 1921. Only a year later, Diego marries Lupe Marin in 1922. Still married to Lupe, Rivera marries Frida Kahlo (twenty years younger than he) in 1929, divorces in 1939, remarries her in 1940, she dies in 1954. The next year, Rivera married his fourth wife and agent for nine years, Emma Hurtado. (diegorivera.com)
2. Did the artist have children? If so, note any information on the children. In 1916, Angeline gives him a son, also named Diego. In 1918, Diego fathers an illegitimate child, Marika, to Maria Vorobieff-Stebelska, while still married to Angeline.. After marrying Lupe Marin in 1922, she gives him two daughters, Ruth and Guadalupe. (Wikipedia)
3. What were the artist’s early experiences as an artist? Rivera spent much of his early years going back and forth between Spain and Paris with his artist friends. He became interested in cubism shortly before World War I and even had a lengthy conversation with Picasso regarding cubism and his recent works. (Wikipedia)
4. What were the significant early works of art and what were they like? Rivera’s first known works were La Era and La Castaňeda, both oil on canvas. La Era was a landscape showing work mules on a farm and mountains in the distance. La Castaňeda is a pathway through the woods with very tall trees. Both works were completed in 1904, when Rivera was only eighteen years old. (diegorivera.com)

Historical Information
1. What major historical events took place around the world during the time the artist was alive? Give 2 – 3 significant historical events for each continent.
a. Europe: World War I (1914-1918) Holocaust (1933-1945) Hitler-Stalin pact of 1939
b. Asia: Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 1941 Korean War (1950-1953)
c. Africa: South African/Boer War (1899-1902)
d. North America: Prohibition (1920-1933) Stock Market Crash 1929 Great Depression 1929-late 1930’s
e. South America: Joined the Allies of WWII in 1941 Cuban-American Treaty over Guantanamo Bay - 1903

Historical Information on the Style
1. What style did the artist work in? (This is noted for you at the beginning of this assignment). Diego Rivera worked in political protest. He had been asked to paint a mural in Moscow for the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution but was ordered out due to involvement in anti-Soviet politics. Upon his return to Mexico he was kicked out of the Mexican Communist Party due to their belief that his 1928 mural In the Arsenal was believed by some to show Rivera’s prior knowledge of a murder by a Stalinist assassin. And in 1933, Rivera was asked to paint a mural in Rockefeller Center, New York, and when they saw it contained the image of Vladimir Lenin it was removed from the wall, and Rivera lost his commission to paint a mural for the World’s Fair in Chicago. (Wikipedia)
2. Describe the significant characteristics of this style. The style of art of Political Protest is often driven from anger, brutality, war, protest and feelings of government misrepresentation. The piece is designed to get these emotions across, to make people understand how the artist feels. Often colors and hidden images or phrases are embedded to create a more lasting effect.
3. Name some of the other artists who worked in this style. Artists who worked in the style of Political Protest are Pablo Picasso (Frank, p.410), Bob Dylan (musician/song writer), Hunter S. Thompson (political writer), and many photojournalists emerged during the civil rights movements.
4. Where and when did this style occur? The style of Political Protest occurred long before Diego Rivera. Francesco Goya was creating art depicting political events as early as 1814 (Frank, p.353).

Highlights of Artistic Career
1. What were some of the highlights of the artistic career of the artist? Diego Rivera’s artistic career was full of highlights. He rarely rested, apart from his having four wives and being married five times, he traveled the world and kept company with some of the finest artists of his time. In 1922, Rivera took part in the founding of the Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, Painters, and sculptors. He painted 124 fresco murals on Mexico’s 1910 Revolution, and finished in 1928. He was a controversial communist, removed from Soviet and Mexican Communism parties, and was commissioned to paint murals all over the world. Some he never finished, some he refused to finish, only to repaint in another country. Diego Rivera is truly a fascinating artist. (Wikipedia)
2. List any awards, honors and/or exhibitions of her/his art work. Rewards/Exhibitions of Diego Rivera: (diegorivera.com) 1906 – art exhibition in San Carlos, shows La Era and La Castaňeda 1907 – received a four year scholarship 1910 – art exhibition for the Society of Independent Artists 1911 – art exhibit of landscapes in the Salon d’ Automne 1912 – exhibits Catalonian landscapes for the Society of Independent Artists 1913 – exhibits paintings at the Gallerie Bernheim Jeune summer exhibits at the Salon d’ Automne 1914 - art exhibition for the Society of Independent Artists meets Picasso 1915 – exhibit introducing cubism in Madrid 1916 – two exhibits including post-impressionist and cubism in New York 1919 – exhibition in Paris 1921 – appointed to art-related government position with revolutionary mural program 1923 – commissioned to begin a wall on the patio for the Secretary of Public Education 1925 – painting titled Flower Day takes the purchase prize at a Los Angeles museum 1927 – commissioned to paint for 10th anniversary for Moscow’s October Revolution 1929 – appointed Director of the Academy of San Carlos 1930 – large Rivera retrospect exhibition at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor 1931 – retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York 1932 – commissioned by the Detroit Institute of Art to paint Detroit Industry commissioned to paint nine murals at Rockefeller Center in New York 1933 – public showing of the New Workers School Panels and nightly lectures by Rivera 1934 – mural at Rockefeller center is destroyed (due to image of Lenin) 1936 – commissioned for murals of Mexican festivals at Hotel Reforma in Mexico City 1940 – invited to participate in Golden Gate international exposition 1943 – commissioned to paint mural to the history of cardiology in Mexico City 1947 – commissioned to paint Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda (includes the words “God does not exist” and is hidden from the public for nine years) 1950 – exhibition in the Mexican Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 1951 – paints murals intended to be submerged underwater at Lerma Waterworks 1952 – paints The nightmare of war and the dream of peace and is forbidden to exhibit it 1955 – National Homage to celebrate his 70th birthday (diegorivera.com)
3. Briefly discuss several significant works by the artist. Name the works and tell a little about each. Significant works by Diego Rivera: Flower Day: includes Rivera’s classic depiction of Calla Lillies and Mexican people. Won first prize at First Pan-American Exhibition of Oil Paintings (1925) Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda: a 50’ fresco painting including the image of Friday Kahlo and a scroll reading “God does not exist.” Man at the Crossroads: originally painted at Rockefeller Center, including an image of Lenin. When asked to paint over it, Rivera refused and it was covered, eventually painted over. Man, Controller of the Universe: repaint of the original made for Rcokefeller Center, which was recreated at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Detroit Industry: 27 fresco mural panels depicting the Ford Motor Company and industry of science, medicine and new technology, located at the Detroit Institute of Arts. (Wikipedia)

References:

“Diego Rivera.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation, 14 September 2010. Web. 18 September 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Rivera
Diego Rivera Web Museum. The Virtual Diego Rivera Web Museum. N.p. 9 September 2010. Web. 18 September 2010. http://www.diegorivera.com
Frank, Patrick. Prebles’ Artforms: An Introduction to the Visual Arts. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Ninth Edition. 2009. Print.