Torfs-Leibman 1 A faithful communist, Diego Rivera would not allow wealthy land owners to discriminate against the vital

laborers, workers, and farmers of Mexico. After being a cubist for many years, Rivera became the leader of the Mexican Muralist Movement. Diego Riveras murals artistically portrayed the life and struggles of the native and mestizo people of Mexico. Through painting the ignored races of Mexico, Riveras murals showed Mexico the importance of the Mexican working class. Communism and Marxism were not the popular political parties of Mexico, and many people were upset with Rivera and the other artists who took part in the Mexican Renaissance for painting lies. This did not stop him and other artists from continuing their constant struggle to inspire Mexicos people. From the 1920s to 1940s, Diego Rivera painted revolutionary political murals on the walls of public spaces all over the country to empower Mexican citizens with a communist message that would motivate them to rebel against rich peoples control over Mexicos government. The Mexican people suffered greatly previous to the revolution of 1910. Mexicos countryside belonged to a small group of landowners, who held so much land that by 1910, 90% of Mexican peasants owned no land at all and were forced to live under these landowners with heaps of debt (Rochfort 11). The United States felt obligated to help Mexico largely because it feared that the peasants would come north. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson addressed Congress with a speech on Mexican relations, The present circumstances of the Republic, I deeply regret to say, do not seem to promise even the foundations of peace. We have waited many months, months full of peril and anxiety for the conditions to improve, and they have not improved. They have grown worse rather. After the Mexican civil war, the situation did not improve, the war had left the country in chaos and despair. Agricultural lands were untilled, cattle destroyed and no functioning industry was in place to provide economic development. The

Torfs-Leibman 2 land was full of orphans, war cripples and beggars. Outlaws roamed Mexico, leaving behind a trail of destruction (Wolfe 146). Mexico was in ruins, and by 1923, the national treasury was nearly bankrupt, and no loan from another country could replenish it (D. 79). The government was corrupt, the gap between the rich and the poor was enormous, and there were no funds to fix anything. Diego Rivera had lived in Paris while Russia revolted against the czar, and closely watched communism bring rights to Russias people, while his own country, Mexico, still suffered from endless unfair treatment towards its poor citizens. After the ten long years of revolution, 1.9-3.5 million people were estimated to have died from the treacherous fighting (MaCaa).Ten years of civil war had devastated Mexico, people were poor and the population had been decimated. The war had consisted of revolution after revolution, each of which was violent and war-like. When Alvaro Obregon took power at the end of the revolution, in 1920, he only gave back 1.2 million hectares, a fraction of the eligible land, to the peasants. Most of the land remained in the hands of the rich (Merrill). But Rivera was an artist, not a soldier. Instead of using violence to voice his Marxist beliefs to the world, he painted. Before painting frescos, Diego studied cubism in Europe. Cubism is the use of geometric shapes and overlapping levels to both distort a picture and show another viewpoint of the subject. Diego said himself when explaining why he had changed the purpose of his art, I stopped painting in a cubist manner because of the war, the Russian Revolution, and my belief in the need for a popular and socialized art. It had to be functional art, related to the world and to the time and serve to help the masses better a social organization. (Gonzales 49). Cubism is difficult to understand, only those with formal art schooling can decode its many shapes. Cubism would be useless to convey a message to everyday Mexican citizens. This led Rivera to paint in a

Torfs-Leibman 3 more realistic way, although his murals remained extravagant in order to catch peoples attention (49). Diego Rivera not only changed his style of painting in order to reach the Mexican people, but also the location and medium of his artwork. Gonzales states, Rivera realized that art that would inspire the common citizen could not be tucked away in elegant art galleries or in the homes of rich people. Workers and farmers never saw art in these places. Art with a social message for ordinary people would have to be displayed in places where it would be seen- in post offices, schools, railroad stations, and other public buildings (Gonzales 49). Diego Rivera realized this and knew he should no longer paint on canvases. Instead he began painting frescos. Frescos are murals painted on plaster. Schjeldahl says, The antique medium of fresco painting includes pigments mixing with a paste of marble dust or sand and water-treated lime, which dries rock hard (Schjeldahl 84). Riveras frescoes were painted on huge walls, in public places. In and on these public buildings, all people could see Diegos artwork, and learn from the images displayed. Diego changed his art to convince the people of Mexico of their power, he felt his art could play a big role in bringing equality and peace to Mexico. In her book, Gonzales addresses Riveras belief in art, Maybe art could show ordinary citizens how important they are to their nation. Rivera felt that once workers understood their value, they would understand their power. This power might give them the courage to revolt against unfair rulers (48). Riveras true communist ideology changed the way art had been used, violence was now not the only option when attempting to convey a strong political view. Death of a Capitalist was painted by Diego Rivera in 1928 and is a straightforward attack on the capitalists of Mexico. Rivera did not harm anyone physically in painting Death of a

Torfs-Leibman 4 Capitalist but the violent scene portrays the same message. Death of a Capitalist is one mural of a series called the Corridor of the Proletarian Revolution. According to Rochfort, when painting the murals in the Corridor, Rivera focused on the concepts of revolutionary justice and contrasted these concepts with the utopian revolutionary struggles depicted on other panels such as The Trench and The Protest. The Trench features men crouching together with their backs facing the viewers of the painting, armed with guns, firing into the distance. The Trench represents the struggles Mexico must go through and the bravery it must display in order to become a Marxist country. Diego painted The Protest as the model of communist society and the equality people will be given under communist control (66). Corridor of the Proletarian Revolution was one of Diegos more serious projects after he returned to Mexico. It was a straightforward interpretation of what Diego believed and learned about communism in Europe. Diego returned to Mexico in 1921, for the Mexican government ended the scholarship that had taken him to Paris in 1907 (Schjeldahl 84). When back in Mexico, Rivera was hired by Jos Vasconcelos to paint for the Ministry of Education. The ministry hired many artists, and they were allowed to paint whatever they wanted; they were paid daily, and had no limit of time. This investment the government made in art began the Mexican Muralist Movement (Gonzales 57-58). Rivera had missed the Mexican Revolution, for he had lived in Paris at the time, but did not miss the aftermath. After first painting on walls for the Ministry, Diegos life revolved around painting to help Mexico and its people. Diego Rivera truly believed that Marxism and Communism could provide the answers to all of Mexicos problems. This led him to paint mural upon mural displaying the life and work of Mexican peasants. Rivera wanted to make sure his murals were truthful and provided accurate accounts of the hardships the Mexican proletariat faced under the oppression of the wealthy. To

Torfs-Leibman 5 be able to show the true hardship, Rivera lived like the peasants of Mexico. He was paid almost nothing for a mural, requiring him to make drawings or small paintings, which he sold in the United States to survive. Guadalupe Marin, one of Riveras wives, describes his lifestyle and how it forced him to live like a peasant, Whatever money Diego made, he spent on his idols or donated to the [Communist Party]. He never thought of any practical ways to spend money. Such as proic [sic] things as food, clothing, or rent were his last considerations (Gonzales 56). Diego thought very poorly of the bourgeoisie, and would not live like one himself, even if it meant living on the brink of homelessness. Diego Rivera often painted scenes of work, festivals, battles, killings, or any other place he could show the strength of the poor Mexican citizen and the cruelty and weakness of the rich capitalist. Many of Riveras paintings told historical stories beginning with the Aztecs then progressing to a glorious communist revolutionary future (Norwood). Paintings of his, such as The Sugar Refinery, The Burning of the Judases, and The History of Mexico embody Diego Riveras belief in the people of Mexico. Eventually, Riveras interest turned to social expression, depicting the different industries and agriculture of the various regions of Mexico (Rochfort 52). Diegos painting The Sugar Refinery, as well as other panels painted on the walls of the Ministry Education in Mexico City, are examples of his work becoming more rhythmic, monumental, and less folkloric. Rivera began to focus on expressing the toil and hardship that the workers endured rather than just displaying the concept of industrial production (54). Rivera began and finished The Sugar Refinery in 1923 and that same year he began another mural called The Burning of the Judases. This painting, like The Sugar Refinery, is an example of Rivera painting less about native culture and more about social expression.

Torfs-Leibman 6

Rivera painted The Burning of the Judases from 1923-1924. In his book, Rochfort describes The Burning of the Judases as one of several paintings where Rivera used satire to get his message across. When the Spanish introduced the Mexican people to Catholicism, they taught the Mexicans that the Apostle Judas betrayed Jesus. It became custom to celebrate Holy Saturday with the burning of the Judases, puppets that look like disliked political figures. The dolls are stuffed with explosives and set on fire. In Riveras painting, the three exploding figures represent the government, the church, and the army. This painting is Riveras interpretation of how the pre-revolutionary established oligarchies betrayed the many people that followed them into revolution and war (59). Five years later, Diego began his famous The History of Mexico mural. The History of Mexico stretches massively across walls in the National Palace of Mexico. The painting follows what Cineros calls a classic revolutionary layout, with the north wall depicting a scene that corresponds to the history of Mexico, in pre-Columbian times. On the south wall, Rivera depicts the future of Mexico as a communist society. The center wall shows the history from the Conquest to present time (Cineros 4). The future shown on the south wall is highly symbolic, not only because Rivera painted the future governed by left-wing politicians, but also because the south wall represents the border between the capitalist United States and the future communist Mexico (4). The figures on the north wall portraying the pre-Columbian times of Mexico appear less crowded than on the other two walls, which portrays the drastic population increase when the Spanish came to Mexico. The people on the north wall occupy themselves with different tasks often preformed in the Aztec communities, such as planting corn and weaving (5). The central wall is dominated by Spanish soldiers attempting to subdue the Aztec

Torfs-Leibman 7 people to concur with the French occupation under Maximilian, or to follow Emiliano Zapata into rebellion (7). Riveras choice of subjects depicted in The History of Mexico and the way he presented them were truly radical and corresponded to his Marxist beliefs. Rivera portrayed different aspects of history in a way that revealed various perspectives of events, even if the mural became almost un-decodable (Rodriguez-Prampolini 133). Mexican laborers became the heroes of Riveras art, and the rich, the villains. The beautiful and unique color schemes of Riveras art pleased many people and his murals were becoming famous in countries other than Mexico (Wolfe 317). Americans such as Ralph Stackpole and William Gerstle bought Riveras art and praised it, while other people despised it (317). The rich Mexican population was beginning to get angry because it criticized them, and they did not want it to become famous. Mexican muralists under Riveras lead were showing the world that art no longer had to praise the light-skinned rich. Art being a form of expression could glorify and objectify anyone and anything. It was up to the artist. The fame of Mexican murals grew and brought politics forever into art. Diego Riveras political mission was to help the revolution by inspiring the Mexican proletariat. To do this, he chose to ridicule and make fun of wealthy Mexicans. Dying capitalists and the strong Mexican working men drew the attention of the intended audience but also won him some violent enemies and many of them controlled key parts of the government and almost all of the media. Some Mexicans who were unhappy with the artists of the Muralist Movement destroyed the paintings they did not agree with. Painters often had to climb onto their scaffolds armed with pistols to scare away vandals (Gonzales 58). Being a revolutionary muralist required brave qualities.

Torfs-Leibman 8 Riveras choice to challenge the rich was a result of his trip to Russia. When returning from the Soviet Union in 1928, his paintings depicted a recurring motif. This motif was the contrast between the ideals and the achievements of the revolution and his harsh criticism of the rich (Rochfort 63). Riveras paintings, Night of the Rich and Night of the Poor are two of the many paintings influenced by Riveras admiration of revolutionary ideals, contrasted with his disgust for the decedent life of the wealthy. The figures in Night of the Rich sit about drinking wine, while in the painting Night of the Poor, people sit huddled outside and mothers cradle their almost naked children. The two paintings hang side by side, which made the contrast between the lives of the rich and poor even starker. The muralist Jos Clemente Orozco was also a revolutionary, but he had experienced the 1910 revolution first hand while Rivera was in Europe. His painting, The Rich Banquet While the Workers Fight, is very similar to Riveras Night of the Rich. But in Orozcos work, the rich are pointing and laughing at the poor. The intention of this painting is not necessarily to make poor citizens feel strong, but to anger them, while still empowering them. The rich were both violent and nonviolent. Around 1924, middle class Mexicans began a campaign of vandalism against the work of Rivera and Orozco. The middle class wanted Mexican art to depict the life of the wealthy, refined, light-skinned Mexicans. The message they wanted to send the world was that Mexicans were a sophisticated and peaceful people. When Diego realized the violent reaction of the bourgeoisie, he became bolder and more daring in presenting strong social messages in his art, poetry, and writing (Wolfe 29). Rivera took part in the Syndicate for Technical Workers, Sculptors, and Artists. Even when working as a group they suffered violent attacks from the bourgeois intelligentsia and the press under its influence. No

Torfs-Leibman 9 matter how many times the artists were assaulted, they continued to paint (Rivera and Cladys 78).

Diego painted for the people of Mexico and he lived like the peasants to increase his understanding of their life. Rivera took these great measures to help the revolution, but the revolution never followed through. No matter how hard the muralists painted, the military was in charge of public services, such as building hospitals, homes, orphanages, and providing for child nutrition programs. While the country was full of beautiful frescos, the people continued to live in utter poverty. They were lacking food, and existed never far from starvation. The military was corrupt and rich, its generals did not want to spend their money for the benefit of the poor. Riveras paintings could not by themselves fix Mexico (Wolfe 161). The people who were supposed to rebel were hungry. They were not strong enough to start a revolution. While Rivera was not able to transform Mexico, or achieve equality for all people through his art, he continued to be a source of inspiration for artists all over the world, such as Ben Shann and William Gropper, who wanted to use their art as a way to convey a social message to the public (LucieSmith 78). Diego Riveras murals challenged Mexico to value its entire population. His art illustrated that equality between all social classes would move the country out of its economic troubles as well as provide a way to resolve constant political and social issues. His murals also taught their observers that fighting, wars, and violence were not the only ways to persuade people of a political stance. Riveras murals show evidence of art being effectively used as an outlet for political beliefs, his artwork was artistically and politically revolutionary. Artistically, his art was innovative as the idea of painting massive public murals to reach greater audiences

Torfs-Leibman 10 had not been used for many years. Politically and socially, Riveras artwork conveyed messages of the importance of the proletariat, challenging the wealthy and their corrupt influence on the government. The devoted Marxist created a political art movement, which inspired many others to express their views through art and to strive for peace and equality.

Torfs-Leibman 11 Appendix A

Death of a Capitalist

The Sugar Refinery

Torfs-Leibman 12 Appendix B

The Trench

The Protest

Torfs-Leibman 13 Appendix C

The Burning of the Judases

The History of Mexico

Torfs-Leibman 14 Appendix D

Night of the Rich

Night of the Poor

Torfs-Leibman 15 Appendix E

The Rich Banquet While the Workers Fight