Diego rivera murals

Now thought to be one of the leading artists of the 20th century, Diego Rivera sought to make art that reflected the lives of the Mexican people. In , through a government program, he started a series of murals in public buildings. Rivera was born on December 8, , in Guanajuato, Mexico. His passion for art emerged early on. He began drawing as a child.

In , Rivera traveled to Europe to further his art studies.

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There, he befriended many leading artists of the day, including Pablo Picasso. Rivera was also able to view influential works by Paul Gaugin and Henri Matisse, among others. Rivera had some success as a Cubist painter in Europe, but the course of world events would strongly change the style and subject of his work. Inspired by the political ideals of the Mexican Revolution and the Russian Revolution , Rivera wanted to make art that reflected the lives of the working class and native peoples of Mexico.

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He developed an interest in making murals during a trip to Italy, finding inspiration in the Renaissance frescos there. Returning to Mexico, Rivera began to express his artistic ideas about Mexico. He received funding from the government to create a series of murals about the country's people and its history on the walls of public buildings.

In the s and '40s, Rivera painted several murals in the United States. The artist had reportedly included Lenin in his piece to portray the turbulent political atmosphere at the time, which was largely defined by conflicting capitalist and socialist ideologies and escalating fears surrounding the Communist Party. The Rockefellers disliked Rivera's insertion of Lenin and, thusly, asked Rivera to remove the portrait, but the painter refused.