Painting by Diego Rivera

This painting by Diego Rivera was started in 1933 for the Rockefeller Center in New York. He was asked to paint a mural on the second floor in the Palace of Fine Arts. John Rockefeller wanted this painting to get people to stop and think. Rivera included a portrait of Vladimir Lennon in the mural which upset Rockefeller. He asked Diego to remove the picture of Lennon and add one of Abraham Lincoln. Diego refused to do so. When he had completed the mural, it remained draped. Diego was fully still paid for the mural even though it wasn’t on display. It was destroyed in 1934 just a few weeks after it was completed. People were angry and protested but it was no use.

In this mural the man in the middle who is using some kind of controlling device, splits the mural into two different worlds. The message behind this mural was Rivera trying to portray his anti-capitalistic ideas on the left and show and ideal vision of socialists on the right. In the wing type things coming from behind the controller, on the capitalistic side it shows diseased cells and on the socialistic side it shows healthy natural cells. There are also statues in the picture, one show the fall of fascism and one shows religion.

This mural is not only an artistic mater piece, but a political one too. Rivera clearly states his thoughts and opinions on politics. He is with the socialist party because he is from Cuba. I thought this was mural was well done and should not have been destroyed, but instead put in a different museum so it could be displayed to people who enjoy it. Luckily someone took pictures of it before workmen destroyed it with axes so Diego Rivera could duplicate it. The second version was smaller and was placed in a museum in Mexico. I personally like the painting because of its unique elements and the fact that he isn’t afraid to show his opinions.