Rivera

By Andrea Kettenmann

Book Overview

Diego Rivera (1886-1957) is a loud presence on the art historical stage. With devout political principles and a turbulent romantic history, he was at once husband and paladin of Frida Kahlo, advocate and adversary of Stalin's Soviet Union, and liberator and traitor of Leon Trotsky.

Vibrant, graphic, and often monumental, Rivera's paintings carry the same live political and passionate charge as his personal biography. Fusing European influences such as Cubism with a socialist ideology and an exaltation of Mexico's indigenous and popular heritage, he created a new iconography for art history and for his country. He became one of the most important figures in the Mexican mural movement and won international acclaim for his public wall paintings, in which he presented a utopian yet accessible vision of a post-revolutionary Mexico. In 1931, Rivera was the subject of MoMA's second ever monographic exhibition.

This book explores the unique blend of influence and ideology which secure Rivera's place as both a unique and a universal painter, bound to the particular turbulent experience of early 20th century Mexico, and yet preoccupied with subjects such as revolution and class inequity which continue to speak to us today.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3836504138
• ISBN13: 9783836504133
• Release Date: July 2015
• Publisher: Taschen
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 1.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.4" x 10.3"

Customer Reviews

Solid Overview

This concise book is a solid introduction to Diego Rivera. The text is a concise biography concentrating on his artistic career. There are abundant images showing his work across the whole length of his long and productive career. The images concentrate on his many important murals but there is a good selection of his other work. An important point, though it really emerges implicitly, is the eclectic nature of Rivera's influences. Rivera had rigorous classical training as a young man, had a modernist-cubist phase, was apparently influenced by Italian Renaissance fresco painting, and had a tremendous interest in Pre-Columbian art. I would have liked to read some more formal art criticism. For example, there are several comments on the influence of Renaissance fresco painting but we never see any specific examples. Image reproduction quality is good but the book is relatively small, which makes the murals look 'busy.' Still, as a short introduction, this is a very good effort.