ART H213 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, Diego Rivera, Cubism
12 Jul 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
March 18, 2015
LECTURE 15
period of mexican revolution,
Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico - military generals. controlled politics until 82/83 in 1910.
modernization during time of presidency. most controlled by foreign investors especially health
and sanitization, not reaching the indigenous and the poor. average life expectancy for
indigenous man was 30 years old. Changes his mind about not running again, jails the opposing
candidate - inspired outbreaks and riots all over mexico.
after death, different leaders took up and proposed different issues, no one could agree on a
single platform
Siqueiros - fighting during revolutions
Rivera - in europe, came back in 1910, then was in europe till 1921, did not see any of the
fighting
early 20s all were back
National Preparatory School PREPA - only place where all three muralists worked at at the
same time, most prestigious secondary school in mexico city, children of the elite attended,
how could they use art to create a sense of a new mexican nation, something to bring people
together again. painted the walls of the school. Now a cultural centre near the centre of Mexico
city.
Orozco- used the architecture or frame different scenes
Siqueiros - had the fewest skills as a painter, painted some ceilings in the stairwells
Rivera - main auditorium
while there ,an attempted coup against the new government, potential threat against the arts,
create the Union of technical workers, painters, and sculptures.
Technical workers -
try to take the power out of the elite and put it into the hands of the worker
Siqueiros - wrote the manifesto, signed by the other two. people meaning the under served
people.
Diego Rivera (1886-1957)
twin brother died when year and half old, spoiled child. well off family, owned land.
mother very well educated, father that bureaucrat. moved to mexico city in 1890s.
always interested in how things worked - nicknamed “little engineer”
precocious - at 12 sent to art school, studied at academy. went to spain, paris, and
london. came back in 1910 exhibition occurred right before the outbreak of the mexican
revolution. revolution broke out - went back to europe for next 11 years.
Zapatista Landscape - experimented especially with cubism. reading about the revolution from
Europe. elements of mexico - mountains, sombrero, riffle (revolution), reds, blues, yellows.
island of the lake like Tenotitchlan. things associated with mexico and revolution brought
together. european modernism
synthetic cubism - college cubism, looks as though it was colleges even though it is all
painted. take things from different places and put them together
analytic cubism - take something and take it apart to analyze it
trompe l’oeil - fool the eye illusonism. llusionism - piece of paper tacked onto corner of
canvas.
Document Summary
Changes his mind about not running again, jails the opposing candidate - inspired outbreaks and riots all over mexico. after death, different leaders took up and proposed different issues, no one could agree on a single platform. Rivera - in europe, came back in 1910, then was in europe till 1921, did not see any of the. Now a cultural centre near the centre of mexico city. Orozco- used the architecture or frame different scenes. Siqueiros - had the fewest skills as a painter, painted some ceilings in the stairwells. Rivera - main auditorium while there ,an attempted coup against the new government, potential threat against the arts, create the union of technical workers, painters, and sculptures. Technical workers - try to take the power out of the elite and put it into the hands of the worker. Siqueiros - wrote the manifesto, signed by the other two. people meaning the under served people.
