Famed fresco muralist, Diego Rivera was born on December 8, 1886, in Guanajuato City. From an affluent family, Rivera studied art at the Academy of San Carlos beginning at age 10. He traveled to Europe on scholarship arranged by Teodoro A. Dehesa Mendez (governor of Veracruz), studying first in Spain and then settled in Paris. He became part of a group of artist friends during the height of Cubism, enamored with the work of Braque and Picasso and then the Post-Impressionist painting of Paul Cezanne. At the suggestion of the Mexican ambassador to France, Rivera traveled to Italy next, to learn more about the Italian Renaissance.
He returned to Mexico following the Mexican Revolution, joined the Mexican Communist Party and as a participant in the government sponsored mural program, began using his art to impart social and political messages. His style used simple figures, bold, bright colors and exhibited strong Aztec influence. In the 30's Rivera was invited to the US to paint a series of murals in San Francisco, He was honored with a retrospective exhibit of his work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City and finally was commissioned to create a series of 27 fresco panels at the Detroit Institute of Art, entitled "Detroit Industry".
Diego Rivera was married three times, but the most well known union was with Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo. They were both inspiration and irritant to one another and were divorced in 1929, but remarried in 1940. Rivera has work in Mexico, the US and Europe. He was a founding member of the Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors. Rivera lived to be 71, leaving behind an incredible legacy of work.
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