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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
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

Sketch for mural stock exchange San Francisco.
By Diego Rivera
Located in MADRID, ES
Charcoal on paper. Drawing
Category

1920s Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Charcoal

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

Paper, Lithograph

Niño by Diego Rivera
By Diego Rivera
Located in New Orleans, LA
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...
Category

20th Century Post-Impressionist Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Rice Paper, Charcoal

Open Air School (iconic image of indigenous teacher by Mexican muralist)
By Diego Rivera
Located in New Orleans, LA
An indigenous teacher, surrounded by her multi-generational students, sits at the edge of a field, open book in hand. In the distance, we see campesinos working the fields with their horses. A lone, armed horseman watches over the class, locating the lithograph in its historical setting, the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution...
Category

1930s Modern Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Lithograph

SELF PORTRAIT / AUTORETRATO
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...
Category

1930s Modern Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Lithograph

Portrait of Enriqueta G. Dávila
By Diego Rivera
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A painting by Diego Rivera. "Portrait of Enriqueta G. Dávila" is a modern portrait, oil on canvas in a palette of whites, browns, purples, and reds by Mexican artist Diego Rivera. Th...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

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Previously Available Items
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20th Century Post-Impressionist Diego Rivera Art

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SELF PORTRAIT / AUTORETRATO
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...
Category

1930s Modern Diego Rivera Art

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Lithograph

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

2001 Diego Rivera 'Flower Vendor' Modernism USA Offset Lithograph
By Diego Rivera
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Paper Size: 30 x 24 inches ( 76.2 x 60.96 cm ) Image Size: 25.5 x 21 inches ( 64.77 x 53.34 cm ) Framed: No Condition: A-: Near Mint, very light signs of handling Additional De...
Category

Early 2000s 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

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

Vintage 1948 Limited Edition (of 200) Lithograph by Mexican Master Diego Rivera
By Diego Rivera
Located in Surfside, FL
These are not individually hand signed or numbered. The stated edition on the justification page is 200. They are signed in the plate. The last two images of the title sheet and justification sheet are not included in this sale. just the one lithograph. Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (1886–1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the mural movement in Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted murals in, among other places, Mexico City, Chapingo, and Cuernavaca, Mexico; and San Francisco, Detroit, and New York City, United States. In 1931, a retrospective exhibition of his works was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York; this was before he completed his 27-mural series known as Detroit Industry Murals. Rivera had numerous marriages and children, including at least one natural daughter. His first child and only son died at the age of two. His third wife was fellow Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, with whom he had a volatile relationship that continued until her death. He was married a fifth time, to his agent. Due to his importance in the country’s art history, the government of Mexico declared Rivera's works as "monumentos historicos". As of 2018, Rivera holds the record for highest price at auction for a work of Latin American art. The 1931 painting The Rivals, part of the record setting Collection of Peggy Rockefeller and David Rockefeller, sold for US$9.76 million. His mother María del Pilar Barrientos was said to have Converso ancestry (Spanish ancestors who were forced to convert from Judaism to Catholicism in the 15th and 16th centuries). Rivera wrote in 1935: "My Jewishness is the dominant element in my life," despite never being raised practicing any Jewish faith, Rivera felt his Jewish ancestry informed his art and gave him "sympathy with the downtrodden masses". Diego was of Mexican, Spanish, Indian, African, Italian, Jewish, Russian, and Portuguese descent. From the age of ten, Rivera studied art at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City. He was sponsored to continue study in Europe by Teodoro A. Dehesa Méndez, the governor of the State of Veracruz. After arriving in Europe in 1907, Rivera first went to Madrid, Spain to study with Eduardo Chicharro. From there he went to Paris, France, a destination for young European and American artists and writers, who settled in inexpensive flats in Montparnasse. His circle frequented La Ruche, where his Italian friend Amedeo Modigliani painted his portrait in 1914. His circle of close friends included School of Paris artists Ilya Ehrenburg, Chaim Soutine, Modigliani and his wife Jeanne Hébuterne, Max Jacob, gallery owner Léopold Zborowski, and Moise Kisling. Rivera's former lover Marie Vorobieff-Stebelska (Marevna) honored the circle in her painting Homage to Friends from Montparnasse (1962). In those years, some prominent young painters were experimenting with an art form that would later be known as Cubism, a movement led by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. From 1913 to 1917, Rivera enthusiastically embraced this new art style.[ Around 1917, inspired by Paul Cezanne paintings, Rivera shifted toward Post-Impressionism, using simple forms and large patches of vivid colors. His paintings began to attract attention, and he was able to display them at several exhibitions. In his later years Rivera lived in the United States and Mexico. In 1920, urged by Alberto J. Pani, the Mexican ambassador to France, Rivera left France and traveled through Italy studying its art, including Renaissance frescoes. In 1921 to become involved in the government sponsored Mexican mural program. The program included such Mexican artists as José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo, and the French artist Jean Charlot. In January 1922, he painted – experimentally in encaustic – his first significant mural Creation in the Bolívar Auditorium of the National Preparatory School in Mexico City while guarding himself with a pistol against right-wing students. In the autumn of 1922, Rivera participated in the founding of the Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors, and later that year he joined the Mexican Communist Party (including its Central Committee). His murals, subsequently painted in fresco only, dealt with Mexican society and reflected the country's 1910 Revolution. Rivera developed his own native style based on large, simplified figures and bold colors with an Aztec influence. The mural En el Arsenal (In the Arsenal) shows on the right-hand side Tina Modotti holding an ammunition belt and facing Julio...
Category

1940s Modern Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Lithograph

Vintage 1948 Limited Edition (of 200) Lithograph by Mexican Master Diego Rivera
By Diego Rivera
Located in Surfside, FL
These are not individually hand signed or numbered. The stated edition on the justification page is 200. They are signed in the plate. The last two images of the title sheet and justification sheet are not included in this sale. just the one lithograph. Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (1886–1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the mural movement in Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted murals in, among other places, Mexico City, Chapingo, and Cuernavaca, Mexico; and San Francisco, Detroit, and New York City, United States. In 1931, a retrospective exhibition of his works was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York; this was before he completed his 27-mural series known as Detroit Industry Murals. Rivera had numerous marriages and children, including at least one natural daughter. His first child and only son died at the age of two. His third wife was fellow Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, with whom he had a volatile relationship that continued until her death. He was married a fifth time, to his agent. Due to his importance in the country’s art history, the government of Mexico declared Rivera's works as "monumentos historicos". As of 2018, Rivera holds the record for highest price at auction for a work of Latin American art. The 1931 painting The Rivals, part of the record setting Collection of Peggy Rockefeller and David Rockefeller, sold for US$9.76 million. His mother María del Pilar Barrientos was said to have Converso ancestry (Spanish ancestors who were forced to convert from Judaism to Catholicism in the 15th and 16th centuries). Rivera wrote in 1935: "My Jewishness is the dominant element in my life," despite never being raised practicing any Jewish faith, Rivera felt his Jewish ancestry informed his art and gave him "sympathy with the downtrodden masses". Diego was of Mexican, Spanish, Indian, African, Italian, Jewish, Russian, and Portuguese descent. From the age of ten, Rivera studied art at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City. He was sponsored to continue study in Europe by Teodoro A. Dehesa Méndez, the governor of the State of Veracruz. After arriving in Europe in 1907, Rivera first went to Madrid, Spain to study with Eduardo Chicharro. From there he went to Paris, France, a destination for young European and American artists and writers, who settled in inexpensive flats in Montparnasse. His circle frequented La Ruche, where his Italian friend Amedeo Modigliani painted his portrait in 1914. His circle of close friends included School of Paris artists Ilya Ehrenburg, Chaim Soutine, Modigliani and his wife Jeanne Hébuterne, Max Jacob, gallery owner Léopold Zborowski, and Moise Kisling. Rivera's former lover Marie Vorobieff-Stebelska (Marevna) honored the circle in her painting Homage to Friends from Montparnasse (1962). In those years, some prominent young painters were experimenting with an art form that would later be known as Cubism, a movement led by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. From 1913 to 1917, Rivera enthusiastically embraced this new art style.[ Around 1917, inspired by Paul Cezanne paintings, Rivera shifted toward Post-Impressionism, using simple forms and large patches of vivid colors. His paintings began to attract attention, and he was able to display them at several exhibitions. In his later years Rivera lived in the United States and Mexico. In 1920, urged by Alberto J. Pani, the Mexican ambassador to France, Rivera left France and traveled through Italy studying its art, including Renaissance frescoes. In 1921 to become involved in the government sponsored Mexican mural program. The program included such Mexican artists as José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo, and the French artist Jean Charlot. In January 1922, he painted – experimentally in encaustic – his first significant mural Creation in the Bolívar Auditorium of the National Preparatory School in Mexico City while guarding himself with a pistol against right-wing students. In the autumn of 1922, Rivera participated in the founding of the Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors, and later that year he joined the Mexican Communist Party (including its Central Committee). His murals, subsequently painted in fresco only, dealt with Mexican society and reflected the country's 1910 Revolution. Rivera developed his own native style based on large, simplified figures and bold colors with an Aztec influence. The mural En el Arsenal (In the Arsenal) shows on the right-hand side Tina Modotti holding an ammunition belt and facing Julio...
Category

1940s Modern Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Lithograph

San Francisco Art Institute Mural Preliminary Drawing
By Diego Rivera
Located in Santa Monica, CA
DIEGO RIVERA (1886 – 1957) (Inv. list NY 10) MURAL STUDY FOR THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL of FINE ARTS (SF ART INSTITUTE) ca.1930-31 Important early study of one of Rivera’s first works in the United States. Depicts San Francisco and the Bay with California Allegorical elements. Also shows early ideas for the nave that were never executed at all. Unsigned, but annotated by Emmy Lou Packard...
Category

1930s Realist Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Graphite

Miners
By Diego Rivera
Located in Austin, TX
DIEGO RIVERA (1886-1957) Title: Unknown Medium: Woodblock Print Measurements: 5.5 x 7 in
Category

Early 20th Century Diego Rivera Art

Materials

Woodcut

Miners
H 5.5 in W 7 in

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.

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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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