A Study Of A Mexican Painter And His Inspiration

By Darren Hartley


Huge wall paintings in fresco are the Diego Rivera paintings. The establishment of the Mexican Mural Renaissance is what they are known for. Three characteristics of Diego Rivera are his being a world famous painter, active communist and husband to Frida Kahlo.

Cubism was the initial focus of Diego Rivera paintings. With their simple forms and large patches of colors, they began to shift towards Post-Impressionism, a shift inspired by the Paul Cezanne paintings. As they began to attract the attention of their viewing public, they were ultimately displayed at a number of painting exhibitions.

Creation was the first significant mural among the Diego Rivera paintings. It was done in 1922 and painted in encaustic in an experimental manner. The following Diego Rivera murals were done only in fresco. They dealt with Mexican society while reflecting the 1910 Mexican revolution.

Beginning in September, 1922, the Diego Rivera paintings featured a development of a native style based on large, simplified figures and colors with an Aztec influence.

Story telling is a feature of Diego Rivera paintings. A perfect example of this feature in Diego's mural entitled In The Arsenal. In this mural, Tina Modotti is shown holding an ammunition belt while facing Julio Antonio Mella, wearing a light hat and standing in front of Vittorio Vidale, wearing a black hat. The painting was considered by some spectators as evidence that Diego had prior knowledge of Vidale's murdering Mella.

Consisting of a series of 27 fresco panels were the Diego Rivera paintings between 1932 and 1933.This series was entitled Detroit Industry. Also completed in 1933 was a mural containing a portrait of Vladimir Lenin entitled Man at the Crossroads. This particular mural was repainted in 1934 and subsequently entitled Man, Controller of the Universe.

Laying the foundations for the transition from the artistic endeavour conception of the 19th century to a new and radically different work of art of the 20th century were the Cezanne paintings. In short, Cezanne paintings were the bridge between the 19th century Impressionism and the early 20th century Cubism.

Paul Cezanne was often referred to as the Father of Modern Art. He is a French artist and a Post-Impressionist painter. There was a mastery of design, color, composition and draftsmanship present in Cezanne paintings. These featured brushstrokes that are repetitive, sensitive and exploratory. This feature is highly characteristic and clearly recognizable as works by Cezanne.

Planes of color and small brushstrokes, that build up to form complex fields, are signatures of Cezanne paintings. They directly expressed the sensations of an observing eye and abstractions from an observed nature. Paul studied his subjects intensely and this is conveyed in his paintings, which also reflected his searching gaze and struggle to deal with human visual perception complexity.

Cezanne paintings strove to develop an ideal synthesis of naturalistic representation, personal expression and abstract pictorial order. The early Cezanne paintings were painted in dark tones applied with heavy, fluid pigment. They suggested the moody and romantic expressionism of previous generations.

It was a commitment to contemporary life representations that Cezanne paintings eventually developed into. They became Paul's own observation of the world. They were no longer concerned with either thematic idealization or stylistic affection.




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