April 2017

Pinta la Revolución. Arte Moderno mexicano (1910-1950)

Palacio de Bellas Artes, Spring 2017

Featuring Diego Rivera’s Man at the Crossroads, dramatic and surprising works by José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, a wonderful self-portrait by Dr. Atl and more.

FULL ALBUM with more exhibit art, IDs and descriptions

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MAN AT THE CROSSROADS (Man, Controller of the Universe)

I love Rivera’s epic murals, like The History of Mexico in the stairwell of the National Palace, and this one, originally commissioned for Rockefeller Center but destroyed before it was finished. The Rockefellers didn’t appreciate the inclusion of Marx and Lenin in this depiction of man’s scientific and social progress.

Look at the detail of the center, above. Between the propeller blades on the left, upper class decadence: card playing, cigar smoking, dancing, etc. between the blades on the right, Lenin in solidarity with the workers.

At the height of his career, Diego Rivera was an international art celebrity…Read more from MOMA

He was invited by the Museum of Modern Art (only two years old) to mount an exhibition. It was a big hit. Rockefeller’s mother dug him. Matisse was busy so they hired  Diego Rivera.

Diego Rivera was so hot! But did he really think they would have that mural on their building?

They wouldn’t. It was destroyed.

He repainted it here at the Palacio de Belles Artes, where it was first seen in 1934.

I’ve saw it when I was here before, 25 years ago, but I didn’t remember this great section about Darwin in the lower right.

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Torture of Cauthémoc

Of the “big three,” I had the least appreciation of David Alfaro Siqueiros. Until this show. Great variety and breadth, and some beautiful work.