Diego Rivera's historical vision
By Nadia Ugalde Gómez. Excerpt from the book 'Rivera. The Complete Murals'
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The mural was officially unveiled by President Alemán on May 26, 1948. But in June of that year Archbishop Luis María Martínez refused to bless the hotel, objecting to the words on the parchment held by Ignacio Ramírez,"El Nigromante": "God does not exist". Rivera inscribed them in reference to the thesis of Ramírez’s speech on his induction into the Academia Literaria de San Juan de Letrán in 1836. The statement again provoked virulent hostility a century after its first utterance and led to two physical attacks on the mural. First, a group of engineering students broke into the hotel to erase the words, which Rivera restored the same evening. Next, an anonymous hand damaged the face of the child Rivera and again erased the words "does not exist". The Casa Azul in Coyoacán and Rivera’s studio were also attacked and the mural was consequently protected for the next nine years with a folding wooden screen that could be put up and taken down at will.
The context for the attacks was the unpopular rule of Miguel Alemán, whose presidency was deemed insufficiently independent of his predecessor Ávila Camacho and condemned for its corruption and cronyism. On his return from a trip to the Soviet Union, in April 1956, Rivera rewrote his inscription, which now reads "Conference at the Academia de Letrán, in the year 1836". This dignified solution respected historical truth but ended the controversy. […]
With his monumental mural works, Rivera gave a new dimension to the history of Mexico. His nationalist epic revised the present by reclaiming the past, notably the pre-Hispanic cultures and their direct heirs, the indigenous Mexicans, whom he regarded as an invaluable part of modern Mexican identity. In his historical itinerary, each episode portrayed is essential to the shaping of modern Mexico. He fused together the political, cultural and intellectual aspect of Mexico in the collective imagination, encompassing heroes, victims, and traitors and embracing a plurality of political positions and national projects. His own historical view led him to create works that transcend a decorative function and have forged an ongoing dialogue with the people.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The mural was officially unveiled by President Alemán on May 26, 1948. But in June of that year Archbishop Luis María Martínez refused to bless the hotel, objecting to the words on the parchment held by Ignacio Ramírez,"El Nigromante": "God does not exist". Rivera inscribed them in reference to the thesis of Ramírez’s speech on his induction into the Academia Literaria de San Juan de Letrán in 1836. The statement again provoked virulent hostility a century after its first utterance and led to two physical attacks on the mural. First, a group of engineering students broke into the hotel to erase the words, which Rivera restored the same evening. Next, an anonymous hand damaged the face of the child Rivera and again erased the words "does not exist". The Casa Azul in Coyoacán and Rivera’s studio were also attacked and the mural was consequently protected for the next nine years with a folding wooden screen that could be put up and taken down at will.
The context for the attacks was the unpopular rule of Miguel Alemán, whose presidency was deemed insufficiently independent of his predecessor Ávila Camacho and condemned for its corruption and cronyism. On his return from a trip to the Soviet Union, in April 1956, Rivera rewrote his inscription, which now reads "Conference at the Academia de Letrán, in the year 1836". This dignified solution respected historical truth but ended the controversy. […]
With his monumental mural works, Rivera gave a new dimension to the history of Mexico. His nationalist epic revised the present by reclaiming the past, notably the pre-Hispanic cultures and their direct heirs, the indigenous Mexicans, whom he regarded as an invaluable part of modern Mexican identity. In his historical itinerary, each episode portrayed is essential to the shaping of modern Mexico. He fused together the political, cultural and intellectual aspect of Mexico in the collective imagination, encompassing heroes, victims, and traitors and embracing a plurality of political positions and national projects. His own historical view led him to create works that transcend a decorative function and have forged an ongoing dialogue with the people.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Diego Rivera. The Complete Murals
Hardcover, 29 x 44 cm (11.4 x 17.3 in.), 674 pages
$ 200.00
$ 200.00
Diego in detail. The most comprehensive study of Rivera's work ever made
Diego Rivera working with paints, 1944. (c) Silvia Salmi/CORBIS