Diego Rivera: Detroit Industry South Wall Bookmark

Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886–1957) Detroit Industry, South Wall (detail), 1932–1933

Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886–1957) was a world-renowned painter, also remembered as the high-tempered husband of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, with whom he shared a devotion to radical politics and Communist ideals. He traveled the world, and in Europe experimented with Cubism and Postimpressionism early in his career. But his most recognizable works often featured issues of social inequality, and were painted in a straightforward style indebted to pre-Columbian art and folk art. An interest in fresco painting led to what he considered the best work of his career: the Detroit Industry murals. Created as part of a 1930s US public works program, his monumental creation has come to symbolize the spirit of hardworking laborers as well as the advances of science. He is widely considered one of the most influential Mexican muralists of the 20th century.