Customer Reviews

Diego Rivera: A Retrospective

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Long out of print, this book has never been surpassed as "the complete Rivera." This volume illustrates Diego Rivera's life and work, from his early years at the Mexican Academy of San Carlos and studies in Spain; his subsequent eleven-year sojourn in Paris in the first part of this century; to his efforts to establish a truly national Mexican style in the murals for which he is most famous. Illustrations of Rivera's work are accompanied by essays by noted scholars who reevaluate his place in the history of modern art.

This book is the most comprehensive examination of Diego Rivera's art that I have ever seen. It truly is a retrospective, covering all aspects of his career. The book has been compiled and designed to be the perfect synthesis of coffee-table portfolio and scholarly study in which the text and images unite to create a fitting tribute worthy of this master artist. The book contains over 400 images of Diego Rivera's art, most of which are reproduced in color. The text begins with a detailed chronology of Rivera's life and career, illustrated with over 250 images. This is followed by ten essays by various authors, all generously illustrated, on diverse subjects such as the political and historical dimensions of Rivera's work, the influence of cubism and pre-Columbian art on his work, Rivera's influence on American art of the 1950s, and specific categories of his oeuvre such as murals, portraits, self-portraits and drawings. In all cases the authors provide valuable context and insight into Rivera's work, in prose that is neither overloaded with inaccessible theory nor dumbed down for the general reader. The book ends with the 98-page "Mural Census", an invaluable resource which provides detail on the history and content of every mural Rivera ever painted, including the obscure and nonextant. This section not only provides photographs, but also detailed, enumerated diagrams that explain the architectural layout of the buildings in which the murals were housed and the historic personages and Pre-Columbian subject matter depicted within them. Last but not least, there's an extensive bibliography on Rivera as well.

This is the ultimate one-volume reference on Rivera. No true fan of his art should be without it.

Ordered this as a last minute gift. Advertised as new- then after the date it was supposed to have been shipped, got an email from the seller that it was actually used. I asked for a price adjustment based on the changed information but then sent a second email telling them to just send it as it was needed quickly. The seller never altered the price and actually charged more for shipping than what was stamped on the sent package. The book was fine and made a good gift for a Diego Rivera lover, but I felt the seller was not customer friendly therefore I will not be buying from them again.