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Page 2 of 4 Diego Rivera Retrospective Hot on the heels of the highly successful Frida Kahlo exhibition in Mexico City's Bellas Artes, comes a retrospective of her husband and mentor, Diego Rivera.  Rivera was a massive figure in Mexican contemporary art as he was physically in real life. His murals depicted a nation's struggle for independence and freedom and consequently he became an iconic symbol for the socialist movement in Mexico.
His torrid marriage to Frida Kahlo - who in recent years has probably usurped Rivera as the nation's most internationally recognized artist - also increased his stature within the public eye as well as his fervent political ideology. This latest retrospective - entitled "Diego Rivera: Epopeya Mural" or Diego Rivera: Epic Mural - draws together 165 works and marks 50 years since the artist's death. It is of particular interest to SolutionsAbroad as one of the pieces on display was lent by our company. President Felipe Calderon, who officially inaugurated the retrospective, described Rivera as someone whose "life and work taught us that whatever profession you're in you can always contribute to making this country a better place, to get more people to participate in change, to revolutionize consciences, and to transform Mexico; it's a question of committment, of volunteering and showing love for your country." This is the most complete representation of Rivera's murals in Mexico to date. On show are 23 murals and frescoes that Rivera produced over a thirty-year period around the globe. Notable examples include the mural "Gloriosa Victoria" or Glorious Victory which depicts the United States spurious coup against the democratically-elected Guatemalan government in 1954. Rivera was never one to mince his words or images and in Glorious Victory he makes his point abundantly clear by depicting a smiling face of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower on a bomb while a top C.I.A. official and the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala are seen handing out money to various Guatemalan military commanders and fascist junta officials. Donated by Rivera to the workers of the then Soviet Union, Glorious Victory had been sitting in a storeroom at the Puskin Museum in Moscow for the past half a century. The fact it was kept in a darkened room meant that much of the mural's bright colors are fully preserved and this is the first time it is being shown in Mexico. The retrospective, which runs until Dec. 16, 2007, is mounted in eight halls of Bellas Artes and also include sketches, notes and preparatory works Rivera made for the murals he created at Mexico’s National Palace, Public Education Secretariat, Insurgentes Theater, and other notable public buildings. It is expected to surpass the record-setting 450,000 visitors that went to see Frida Kahlo's exhibition which celebrated the centenary anniversary of her birth. Diego Rivera was born in Guanajuato City on December 8, 1886 and died November 24, 1957 in Mexico City. Return to top
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