Biography on the mexican artist Diego Rivera

Essay by babydogg15High School, 12th gradeA+, March 2005

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"An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to the core. If the artist can't feel everything that humanity feels, if the artist isn't capable of loving until he forgets himself and sacrifices himself if necessary, if he won't put down his magic brush and head the fight against the oppressor, then he isn't a great artist."

Diego Rivera is considered to be the greatest Mexican painter of the twentieth century. He is said to have single handedly both changed the course of the nations art and to have had a profound effect on the international art world. He is credited with the reintroduction of frescoes to the modern art and architectural field. Rivera's tumultuous romance with the eminent artist, Frida Kahlo, and his controversial political views were, and still are, captivating to the public eye. In his various excursions to America throughout the 1930's he was able to portray his many unique ideas in public spaces and galleries, enlightening and inspiring both artists and laymen alike.

Diego Rivera was born on December 8, 1886 in Guanajuato, Mexico. When he was but two years old his health was already remarkably poor. His doctor advised his parents send him to the country to live, away from the toxins and rush of the city. His parents found a beautiful Indian nurse, named Antonia, to care for him while he lived away. Antonia's medicinal practices were somewhat similar to a witch doctor's, in that she practiced medicine with herbs and magic rites. In the rural mountains of the sierra, Rivera was raised by a woman, a woman who showed him such kindness and affection that his love for her surpassed the love he felt toward his mother.

Diego returned to his parents at the age of four. A year later his...