Diego Rivera Essay
Diego Rivera was one of the most recognizable figures in Mexican art, let alone Mexican muralism. His name is widely known for the large murals, especially that of the public art initiative that surfaced in the 1920s, just after the Mexican Revolution, although he began making masterpieces years before the Mexican revolution even began. Diego Rivera was born December 8 of 1886, with a twin brother to parents who were well off. As both Rivera and his brother grew, only Rivera survived. Carlos, Rivera’s brother died at the age of two. Shortly after Rivera began making art, at the age of three he began drawing upon the walls of his home. One can only speculate the reasons for Rivera’s sudden jump to art, but perhaps it was the way he coped
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The first, Man at the Crossroads, was a commission piece. It was commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller for the communications building in Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller wanted a mural depicting his own words, “Man at the Crossroads Looking with Hope and High Vision to the Choosing of a New and Better Future.” Rivera proposed a 63 foot mural and bang working in March of 1933 with 6 assistants. Man at the Crossroads, showed to be one of the most groundbreaking and controversial works of Rivera. Within the mural, the two intersecting slides or crossroads were populated with views of microscopic sexually transmitted disease cells, on one. The other cross road was filled with a telescopic view of the universe. The left panel then showed the high rich class people with drinks, any were women. Whereas, the right panel showed a group of people protesting for change and being clubbed by the police force. Along with those unsavory views to that of the buyer, there was one final image that sealed the fate of the mural. The Russian communist leader, Lenin, is shown uniting hands with that of a black farmer, a white worker and a soldier, which represents an anti-capitalist favor. When asked to change the face of Lenin, Rivera refused thus leading Rockefeller to not allow him to finished his work and bar him from the premises. Rivera, determined to finish, reproducing the work under another name, Man, Controller of The Universe, at the Palacio de Bellas Arte in Mexico
The first, Man at the Crossroads, was a commission piece. It was commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller for the communications building in Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller wanted a mural depicting his own words, “Man at the Crossroads Looking with Hope and High Vision to the Choosing of a New and Better Future.” Rivera proposed a 63 foot mural and bang working in March of 1933 with 6 assistants. Man at the Crossroads, showed to be one of the most groundbreaking and controversial works of Rivera. Within the mural, the two intersecting slides or crossroads were populated with views of microscopic sexually transmitted disease cells, on one. The other cross road was filled with a telescopic view of the universe. The left panel then showed the high rich class people with drinks, any were women. Whereas, the right panel showed a group of people protesting for change and being clubbed by the police force. Along with those unsavory views to that of the buyer, there was one final image that sealed the fate of the mural. The Russian communist leader, Lenin, is shown uniting hands with that of a black farmer, a white worker and a soldier, which represents an anti-capitalist favor. When asked to change the face of Lenin, Rivera refused thus leading Rockefeller to not allow him to finished his work and bar him from the premises. Rivera, determined to finish, reproducing the work under another name, Man, Controller of The Universe, at the Palacio de Bellas Arte in Mexico