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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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Artist: Diego Rivera
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

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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Niño by Diego Rivera
Niño by Diego Rivera
H 19.25 in W 16.88 in D 0.75 in
1997 Diego Rivera 'The Flower Vendor' Modernism USA Offset Lithograph
By Diego Rivera
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

1998 Diego Rivera 'Still Life, 1913' Switzerland Offset Lithograph
By Diego Rivera
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Paper Size: 31.5 x 23.75 inches ( 80.01 x 60.325 cm ) Image Size: 25.5 x 20.25 inches ( 64.77 x 51.435 cm ) Framed: No Condition: A-: Near Mint, very light signs of handling ...
Category

1990s Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Offset

1997 Diego Rivera 'The Flower Vendor' Modernism USA Offset Lithograph
By Diego Rivera
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...
Category

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...
Category

1990s Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Offset

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.

Artists Similar to Diego Rivera

Questions About 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 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 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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