Customer Reviews

Rivera (Basic Art)

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This concise book is a solid introduction to Diego Rivera. The text is a concise biography concentrating on his artistic career. There are abundant images showing his work across the whole length of his long and productive career. The images concentrate on his many important murals but there is a good selection of his other work. An important point, though it really emerges implicitly, is the eclectic nature of Rivera's influences. Rivera had rigorous classical training as a young man, had a modernist-cubist phase, was apparently influenced by Italian Renaissance fresco painting, and had a tremendous interest in Pre-Columbian art. I would have liked to read some more formal art criticism. For example, there are several comments on the influence of Renaissance fresco painting but we never see any specific examples. Image reproduction quality is good but the book is relatively small, which makes the murals look 'busy.' Still, as a short introduction, this is a very good effort.

Rivera by Andrea Kettenmann is a wonderful collection of reproductions of Rivera's work alongside biographical information, including photographs. Speaking of his apprentice years in Europe Kettenmann quotes him, saying, "The age of twenty is simply ridiculous, even when you're talking of Genghis Khan or Napolean." Rivera on board a ship says, "bawling out passages of Zarathustra in the face of the profound and melancholy silence of the ocean, is the most pathetic and kitchy thing I know. That was me." This quote is opposite the painting "House over the Bridge" done in Bruges in 1909 when he was young, bombastic and self-consciously intellectual. It is little known that the original drawing was done by his first wife Angeline Beloff(according to her memoir "Memorias") whose life is vividly depicted in "House on the Bridge: Ten Turbulent Years with Diego Rivera" (also available on Amazon.com.) I recommend both books highly.

Artist Diego Rivera was born at the end of the nineteenth century and grew up in a time when the world was changing by leaps and bounds. He was repeatedly caught up in political intrigue around the world and featured some of these revolutionaries in his painting. Rivera also embraced a rare dedication to realism in his work.

Rivera painted the everyday man with honor and respect. In his hands, the peasant woman nursing her child, the worker chiseling at a wall, woman carrying baskets of fruit to market, nun working in the vines, men and women gathering corn in a field or celebrating a feast all became great works of art.

Rivera's painting of the Great City of Tenochtitlan is stunning. Painted in 1945, this impressive work shows the market place of the Aztec city, alight with the colors of the day. Other frescoes painted in San Francisco highlight the promises of wealth in the new world.

Diego Rivera's painting reflects the time at which he lived, filled with contrast and progress. Color and light evolve from the stylized portraits of the Flemish masters to grid composition and finally to the realistic style that we embrace today.

While reading this book, I learned a lot about art, but also much about the times in which Diego Rivera lived. These were difficult years, an era filled with peril, strife and hardship as the world swirled with Socialism and Communism. Factions fought against each other in brutal power struggles, often catching the innocent in a vice of destruction. Yet, through his splendid paintings, frescoes and line drawings, the man who was Diego Rivera lives on, something that all of us can appreciate.

Great book, came in great pristine condition. His artwork has become very influential for me and reading about his character and history strongly relates to the artwork that he made.