Your Daily Art

Tag: Diego Rivera

  • Pride

    Colonisation: The Great City of Tenochtitlan by Diego Rivera, 1945, Mural from the National Palace, Mexico City.

    Diego Rivera was an active and outspoken Communist who painted these murals (featuring the world of the Aztec people) after the Mexican Revolution as a way to give the Mexican people a sense of identity and pride in their history.

  • In Honor of Labor

    Detroit Industry, South Wall detail, 1932-33 by Diego Rivera, The Detroit Institute of Arts.

    Rivera was at the height of his popularity when he was commissioned to create two large murals representing the auto industry. As a follower of Trotsky, Rivera took the opportunity to celebrate all workers and their important contribution to American Industry.

    Detroit Institute of Arts Rivera Court
    Detroit Institute of Arts Rivera Court

  • Down the Drain

    What the Water Gave Me, 1938 by Frida Kahlo.

    Kahlo’s work is always very personal. This one exposes the thoughts and dreams of the artist whose feet stick out of the water at the end of the tub. She was married to Diego Rivera whose career eclipsed her own, however there has been a revival of her work in the last 15 years which has made her very popular.

  • Art for All

    Everyone knows about the financial and societal woes of Detroit. The once grand and prospering city has been in decline for decades now and an emergency manager was appointed in March which gave fiscal control to the state instead of the city. Last week the news came out that all city interests are being examined as possible revenue streams, up to and including, the city owned Detroit Institute of Arts. Now in all probability, the city would not be able to sell off assets given in trust or as gifts to the institution and the idea has already sparked a backlash in the museum community who would take it as a direct assault on museums in general. Even the suggestion of looting the collection really drives home how desperate situation is. The DIA owns some spectacular pieces, a Brueghel any museum would love to own, a beautiful Caravaggio, the painting by Whistler that sparked (pun intended) the legendary Whistler vs. Ruskin case, a sublime Bingham, and of course the Rivera Court, just to name a few. Perhaps all this publicity will remind people the depth and beauty of the collection and how a visit, over the course of the summer, to see it  for themselves would do the DIA and the city good.