Diego Rivera (December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was born Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez in Guanajuato, Gto. He was a world-famous Mexican painter, an active Communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo, 1929-1939 and 1940-1954 (her death). Rivera's large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Renaissance. Between 1922 and 1953, Diego Rivera painted murals in Mexico City, Chapingo, Cuernavaca, San Francisco, Detroit, and New York City. His 1931 retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City was their second.

Diego Rivera at Artprice. To look at auction records, find Rivera's works in upcoming auctions, check price levels and indexes for his works, read his biography and view his signature, access the Artprice database.

Diego Rivera (1886-1957) was a Mexican painter of the first half of the 20th Century and a collector of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican art. He is most famous for his large murals, executed in the nascent Mexicanist style. He lived during a time of revolution and rising nationalism in his native country, when peasants and poor farmers of largely Native American and Mestizo ancestry sought to overthrow the land-owning Spanish Creole class that had ruled Mexico since it gained independence in 1821. This was accompanied by the birth of a brand of Mexican art that combined the influences of Pre-Columbian Native American culture with contemporary European trends. Rivera was a leading figure in this movemenet.

Early Life and Education

Jose Diego Maria Rivera-Barrientos, along with his twin brother Jose Carlos Maria, was born on 8 December 1886 (some sources say 13 December), in the city of Guanajato, Mexico. They were the two eldest sons of Diego Rivera and Maria del Pilar Barrientos. Both the parents were school teachers. The father was of Creole origin; according to rumor the painter's paternal grandfather had been born in Russia and immigrated to Mexico. Diego's mother was one-quarter Indian.

Diego's twin brother would die in infancy.

In 1892, the family moved to Mexico City, where Diego was sent to the Carpantier Catholic College.

Diego exhibited a vocation for painting early in life. In 1896, he began attending evening classes at the San Carlos Academy of Art. Two years later, he enrolled at the Academy full-time, despite the wishes of his father, who wanted a military career for his son. Diego studied under such painters as Santiago Rebull, Felix Parra and Jose Maria Velasco, his artistic education firmly grounded in classical principles.

In 1906, at the age of 20, Rivera exhibited his works for the first time, as part of the annual exhibition held by the San Carlos Academy.

Rivera's Artistic Development: Europe

In 1907, the governor of Veracruz granted the young painter money to travel to Europe, in order to further his artistic education, and in January 1908, Rivera left for Spain. While in Europe, Rivera experimented with a great variety of styles and techniques, emulating the old masters like El Greco and the painters of the Italian and Northern Renaissances, experimenting with Classicism and Impressionism, dabbling in the contemporary movements of Cubism and Post-Impressionism and finally settling on the simple, straightforward Realist style that would characterize most of his later work.

He stayed in Spain for more than a year. In 1909, he traveled to France, then visited England and Belgium, where he met the Russian artist and art teacher Angelina Beloff (Belova) who would become his mistress and companion for the next twelve years.

Some works of this period include: House over the Bridge (1909), Head of Breton Woman (1910) and Breton Girl (1910). These paintings show the strong influence of Rivera's formal academic education.

In 1910, Rivera exhibited at the Salon des Independents in Paris for the first time. In August of that year, he returned to Mexico, where he exhibited at his alma mater, the San Carlos Academy. His stay coincided with the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution, which would continue over the next two decades and play an important part in the painter's rise to prominence. In his memoirs, Rivera would later claim that he fought in the Revolution in the ranks of the Zapatistas, but this is highly unlikely, at best.

Just a few months after the exhibition, Rivera returned to Europe, spending the summer in Paris, and then traveling to Catalonia, in Spain. In 1912, he and Angelina moved into an apartment in Paris. That summer, the two of them stayed in Toledo. His work of the period shows the first signs of Cubist influences.

In 1913, his first Cubist works were shown at the Salon, demonstrating a much brighter palette and bolder paintwork than that of his fellow Cubists. In 1914, the artist held his first solo exhibition, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War. When the war began, he retreated to neutral Spain, spending some time on the island resort of Mallorca, and then Barcelona and Madrid.

In 1915, Rivera had his first exhibition in the United States, at the Modern Gallery in New York.

With the war dragging on, he returned once more to Paris, where he became one of the leaders of the "Classicist" Cubist group, which included artists such as Juan Gris, Gino Severini and Jean Metzinger. Angelina also introduced him to an intellectual circle that had collected around Henri Matisse and included many Russian expatriates.

It was here that he met and started a relationship with the Russian artist Marevna Vorobiev-Stebelska, whilst still maintaining his relationship with Angelina. The following year, Angelina gave birth to his son, also named Diego. The child would fall victim to the Spanish flu pandemic that swept through the world in the latter years of the war. In 1919, Marevna would give birth to a girl, Marika, who she claimed was Rivera's child. Rivera never acknowledged paternity, though he agreed to support his lover and her daughter financially.

In 1917, Rivera was employed by the Galerie "L'Effort Moderne," and it looked liked the artist would make an outstanding career as a Cubist. This was not to be, however. Rivera's Cubist work was disparaged by Pierre Reverdy, an influential Parisian art critic. Incensed, Rivera confronted Reverdy, and they came to blows. As a result, Rivera abandoned Cubism and changed his circle of friends completely.

Works of this period would include such diverse paintings as: View of Toledo (1912), Sailor at Breakfast (1914) and Zapatista Landscape -- The Guerrilla (1915).

In 1918, the Diego and Angelina moved to the Champ-de-Mars in Paris. His work of the period shows the influence of Post-Impressionism, particularly that of Cezanne. Little by little, the painter returned to figurative painting.

In 1919, Diego Rivera first met David Alfaro Siqueiros, another Mexican painter and a passionate Communist. The two discussed the need for the development of a unique Mexican style of art, based on the art of the pre-Colombian inhabitants of Mexico. Rivera's growth and maturation as an artist was coming to a climax.

In 1920 and 1921, Rivera traveled through Italy, admiring the art of the Renaissance. He was greatly impressed by the large and elaborate murals of the Italian masters, and this provided the final stroke in the development of the artistic style that he would be best known for.

After another brief stay in Paris, he finally returned to Mexico, breaking almost all contact with his European friends, girlfriends and children. He had lived in Europe for the better part of 14 years.

We specialize in high quality oil painting reproductions from Diego Rivera. Our artists focus exclusively on Diego Rivera and the results are unmatched anywhere. Real oil on canvas paintings that you will cherish forever. So please, peruse our images in the Our Painting Collection link above and if you like, we will commission a fantastic painting to your specifications.