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Diego Rivera Art

Mexican, 1886-1957

Known all over the world for his colossal murals, Diego Rivera was one of the leading artists of the 20th century. The Guanajuato, Mexico-born painter’s works adorn the interiors of many public buildings throughout his native country, including the Cortés Palace in Cuernavaca, the National School of Agriculture in Chapingo and the Ministry of Public Education in Mexico City. (Rivera’s family moved to Mexico City in 1892, and he later lived and worked in Mexico’s capital with his third wife, fellow Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.) 

Rivera expressed Mexican national identity like no one before him. He developed his own style of Cubism, reintroduced fresco painting as a major discipline and was a pioneer of Mexican Muralism. Rivera’s artworks have had a significant impact on the international art world.  

At the age of 10 Rivera received a scholarship to study at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City. When he was 21, the governor of Veracruz provided the artist with a grant to study in Europe. He began his studies abroad in Spain, but ended up settling in Paris in 1909, where he befriended Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and esteemed French painter Georges Braque. Picasso's Cubist paintings were an inspiration for him — in his own work, Rivera adopted elements of Cubism, a revolutionary art movement for European culture. The painter later developed an admiration for the work of Postimpressionist artists such as Cézanne, but Renaissance paintings — and Italian frescoes, generally — had a monumental influence on the work that followed.

In 1921, Rivera returned to Mexico to work with social realist painter David Alfaro Siqueiros. In the wake of the Mexican revolution, they shared a vision of turning the interior of public buildings into a canvas for exploring concepts associated with national identity and to express sympathy for the revolution.

In 1930, Rivera traveled to the United States, where he examined modern industry and issues facing the working class in commissioned pieces at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the Detroit Institute of Arts and Rockefeller Center in New York City. For the latter, Rivera’s Man at the Crossroads outraged his sponsors owing to its expression of leftist sentiment — it featured a portrait of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. 

After Rivera refused to remove Lenin from the fresco in the lobby of the RCA building in Rockefeller Center, the artist’s sponsors had the work destroyed. Rivera later repainted the composition in a mural in Mexico, relying on photographs by Lucienne Bloch — his unpaid assistant on the Rockefeller project — that she had covertly taken before the painting was destroyed.

It was the suggestions of artist George Biddle, who had studied with Rivera and was influenced by the Mexican Muralists movement, that helped lay the groundwork for the Public Works of Art Project, which was included as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal.

When Rivera died in 1957 he left unfinished a grandiose mural on the history of Mexico for the National Palace in Mexico City.

Find original Diego Rivera paintings and prints on 1stDibs.

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Original travel poster by Diego Rivera - Mexico Mural of national Palace
By Diego Rivera
Located in PARIS, FR
This striking mid-century travel poster celebrates the cultural richness of Mexico through the unmistakable art of Diego Rivera, one of the most influential muralists of the 20th cen...
Category

1950s Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Circa 1955 travel poster by the Mexican artist Diego Rivera - Mexico
By Diego Rivera
Located in PARIS, FR
The circa 1955 travel poster created by the renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera, promoting Mexico - Décoration murale Palais National, was issued by the National Tourism Office of M...
Category

1950s Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Lithograph, Paper

Desnudo de Frida Kahlo, Signed Lithograph by Diego Rivera
By Diego Rivera
Located in Long Island City, NY
This portrait depicts Rivera's second wife, the artist Frida Kahlo (1907-54), sitting on a bed wearing stockings and shoes and fastening rows of beads around her neck. An accident wh...
Category

1930s Realist Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Lithograph

1952 Original exhibition poster realized by Diego Rivera Mexican Art
By Diego Rivera
Located in PARIS, FR
Very beautiful poster of exhibition realized by Diego Rivera in order to promote the exhibition "Mexican Art, from pre-Columbian to our days", which took place in 1952 in the National Museum of Modern Art. Diego Rivera was a leading Mexican painter. His large frescoes...
Category

1950s Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Lithograph, Paper

Pair framed vintage print of drawings by Diego Rivera
By Diego Rivera
Located in Atlanta, GA
Pair of vintage prints of Diego Rivera's drawings of indigenous Mexican children. Framed on linen board in a pair of period frame. In print sign...
Category

1940s Mexican Modern Vintage Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Wood, Paper

Mexican Girl Returning from the Market
By Diego Rivera
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
Signed & dated: lower right 1954 Diego Rivera (Mexican, (1886 - 1957) Mexican Girl Returning from the Market Watercolor on paper, behind glass 11 x 16” Signed and dated lower right,...
Category

1950s Realist Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

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Diego Rivera 1886-1957 Mexican Tehuana con batea Signed “D Rivera” (lower right) Graphite on cream wove paper A rebel against the traditional school of painting, Diego Rivera is revered as one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century. Tehuana con batea, completed by Rivera in 1922, represents a glimpse into the artist’s process through a powerful graphite-on-paper sketch. Rivera’s thoughtful marks outline a Tehuana — a woman from the isthmus of Tehuantepec and likely a descendant of the Zapotec indigenous peoples. The woman is rendered with a kind of totemic solidity, accented by the block-like forms of her clothing and the strength of her stance. Her arms reach upwards as she carries a basket atop her head. Although highly stylized, the work retains a narrative element that was important to the artist’s output — telling the stories of the native peoples of Mexico. Composed in 1922, this drawing dates from a pivotal moment in the artist’s career. It marked the painting of his first significant mural, Creation, in the Bolívar Auditorium of the National Preparatory School in Mexico City, the first of many government-sponsored murals he would undertake over the next three decades. Later in the year, Rivera founded the Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors, and joined the Mexican Communist Party. The public mural projects reflected his communist politics in historical contexts. Aside from the often-controversial reactions they received, these works focused on the working-class “everyman” of Mexico and reflected the folk ideals that were familiar and respected within the native community. In addition to the rarity of this plaque due to its unique perspective, Tehuana con batea has a notable provenance, having been owned by celebrated Museum of Modern Art staff member Patricia Dowd Whitman. Remembered fondly for building relationships with donors and artists including Dorothea Rockburne and Tom Otterness over her thirty-three years at the institution, she served as Director of the Contemporary Arts Council at MoMA from 1990 until her retirement in 2007. A remarkable drawing with provenance, Tehuana con batea is one-of-a-kind. Born in Guanajuato City, Mexico in 1886, Diego Rivera showed a talent for drawing at a very young age. He began his formal art education at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico. When he moved to Paris in 1907 to live and work with the great gathering of artists in Montparnasse, he was exposed to the burgeoning of Cubism, and fully embraced this new school of thought. His works attracted the attention of the world’s most prestigious art patrons, including Nelson Rockefeller, for whom he painted a controversial mural in 1934. While both his personal and artistic lives were at times tumultuous, it is his artistic vision and compassion for his homeland and people that have formed the legacy of this incredible figure. Created 1922 Paper: 12 7/8" high x 8 3/8" wide Frame: 20 1/2" high x 15 3/8" wide x 1 3/8" deep Provenance: Mary-Anne Martin Fine...
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By Diego Rivera
Located in Santa Monica, CA
DIEGO RIVERA (1886 – 1957) AUTORETRATO / SELF PORTRAIT, 1930 Lithograph. signed and numbered 14/100 by the artist in pencil. Image 15 x 11 ¼”. Full sheet 20 1/8 x 15” with deckle edges on all four sides. Very good condition save for an expertly repaired vertical tear at top of sheet and a small blue ink smudge on the verso. Rivera’s lithographs are scarce. He only produced 10. They were all published by Weyhe Gallery, NY, then led by Carl Zigrosser. Five were published in 1930 and five in 1932. This example is 1930. Beginning in 1930 Rivera produced a series of monumental mural...
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1930s Modern Diego Rivera Art

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Niño by Diego Rivera
By Diego Rivera
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Diego Rivera 1886-1957 Mexican Niño Signed and dated “Diego Rivera 1935” (lower left) Charcoal and sanguine on rice paper A rebel against the traditional school of painting, Diego Rivera is revered as one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century. Niño, completed by Rivera in 1935, represents a masterwork within an important part of the artist’s output — his portraits of children. It is a touching work paying homage to both childhood innocence and the cultural identity of the Mexican people...
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Niño by Diego Rivera
Niño by Diego Rivera
H 19.25 in W 16.88 in D 0.75 in
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Located in Brooklyn, NY
Paper Size: 35.75 x 25 inches ( 90.805 x 63.5 cm ) Image Size: 28.75 x 24 inches ( 73.025 x 60.96 cm ) Framed: No Condition: A-: Near Mint, very light signs of handling Shipp...
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1990s Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Offset

1997 Diego Rivera 'Delfina Flores and Her Niece Modesta' Modernism USA Offset
By Diego Rivera
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Paper Size: 23.5 x 17.5 inches ( 59.69 x 44.45 cm ) Image Size: 23.5 x 17.5 inches ( 59.69 x 44.45 cm ) Framed: No Condition: A-: Near Mint, very light signs of handling Ship...
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Diego Rivera art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Diego Rivera art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of yellow and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Diego Rivera in lithograph, charcoal, offset print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Diego Rivera art, so small editions measuring 11 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Jose Clemente Orozco, Miguel Conde, and Francisco Toledo. Diego Rivera art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $75 and tops out at $98,500, while the average work can sell for $16,500.
Questions About Diego Rivera Art
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 16, 2024
    You can see Diego Rivera's paintings in many places. His work is in the collections of museums across the world, such as the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Museo Mural Diego Rivera in Mexico City and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy. In addition, you can view the artist's murals in many of their original locations, including the City Club in San Francisco and the Detroit Institute of Arts. On 1stDibs, shop a range of Diego Rivera art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 13, 2024
    Diego Rivera's style of art was Cubism. However, the Mexican artist developed his own distinctive version of the style. In 1909, he settled in Paris, where he befriended the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and esteemed French painter Georges Braque, both of whom were pioneers of Cubism. Rivera built on their work, creating works in bright colors and varying the thickness of paint to produce bold textural effects. In addition to his experimentation with Cubism, Rivera also worked in the social realism style later in his career. On 1stDibs, explore a variety of Diego Rivera art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Yes, Diego Rivera did 20 self-portraits during the course of his life. However, his wife, Frida Kahlo, produced one of the best-known depictions of the artist in her painting Diego and I, which depicts him with a third eye. You'll find a variety of Diego Rivera art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Some of Mexican painter Diego Rivera’s large murals can be seen today in Mexico City, Detroit, and San Francisco, and his paintings are displayed in numerous museums across Mexico and the United States. Shop a selection of Diego Rivera paintings from top art dealers on 1stDibs.

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