Thursday, April 3, 2014

A Mexican Painter And His Inspiration

By Darren Hartley


Huge wall paintings in fresco are the Diego Rivera paintings. The establishment of the Mexican Mural Renaissance is what they are known for. Three characteristics of Diego Rivera are his being a world famous painter, active communist and husband to Frida Kahlo.

Initially embracing cubism, Diego Rivera paintings later on shifted towards Post Impressionism. This is shown in their simple forms and large patches of clear colors. These forms and patches were inspired by the Cezanne paintings. Displayed at several exhibitions, they began to attract the attention of their viewers.

The first significant mural among the Diego Rivera paintings was Creation, experimentally painted in encaustic in 1922. The subsequent murals Diego painted were in fresco only, dealing with Mexican society and reflected the Mexican revolution of 1910.

On the basis of large, simplified figures and colors, the Diego Rivera paintings reflected a native style development. This started in September, 1922. There was a sprinkle of Aztec influence noted in these paintings as well.

Story telling is a feature of Diego Rivera paintings. A perfect example of this feature in Diego's mural entitled In The Arsenal. In this mural, Tina Modotti is shown holding an ammunition belt while facing Julio Antonio Mella, wearing a light hat and standing in front of Vittorio Vidale, wearing a black hat. The painting was considered by some spectators as evidence that Diego had prior knowledge of Vidale's murdering Mella.

Between 1932 and 1933, the Diego Rivera paintings consisted of a series of 27 fresco panels entitled Detroit Industry. His mural, Man at the Crossroads, in 1933, contained a portrait of Vladimir Lenin. He repainted it in 1934 and retitled it as Man, Controller of the Universe.

Forming the bridge between 19th century Impressionism and early 20th century Cubism were the Cezanne paintings. They laid the foundations for the transition from the creation of artistic endeavour in the 19th century to a new and glaringly different art work in the 20th century.

Paul Cezanne was often referred to as the Father of Modern Art. He is a French artist and a Post-Impressionist painter. There was a mastery of design, color, composition and draftsmanship present in Cezanne paintings. These featured brushstrokes that are repetitive, sensitive and exploratory. This feature is highly characteristic and clearly recognizable as works by Cezanne.

Planes of color and small brushstrokes, that build up to form complex fields, are signatures of Cezanne paintings. They directly expressed the sensations of an observing eye and abstractions from an observed nature. Paul studied his subjects intensely and this is conveyed in his paintings, which also reflected his searching gaze and struggle to deal with human visual perception complexity.

Cezanne paintings strove to develop an ideal synthesis of naturalistic representation, personal expression and abstract pictorial order. The early Cezanne paintings were painted in dark tones applied with heavy, fluid pigment. They suggested the moody and romantic expressionism of previous generations.

Cezanne paintings gradually developed into a commitment to contemporary life representation. They painted the world as observed by Paul sans concern for thematic idealization and stylistic affectation.




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