Diego Rivera, Mexico

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Diego Rivera, Mexico

Artist Edward Weston (American, 1886-1958)

Date1924

DimensionsPhoto: 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. (19.1 x 24.2 cm);
Original mount: 14 x 16 1/4 in. (35.5 x 41.2 cm)

MediumPlatinum print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LinePurchased with funds given by an anonymous donor

Object number

1971.143

Not on View

Label TextEdward Weston is best known today for his masterfully composed and sharply focused photographs of natural forms, landscapes, and nudes. This image of the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886–1957), notorious for his political radicalism as well as celebrated for his art, was taken while Weston was living in Mexico City. It exemplifies the photographer’s transitional period during which time he abandoned his ‘soft focus’ Pictorialist approach and redefined his aesthetic through the study of Modern art and his acquaintance with photographer and gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz. Diego Rivera, Mexico is striking for its compositional design of flattened, simplified shapes and alternating lights and dark used to convey Rivera’s forceful personality. Rivera poses beside one of his murals, his black triangular-shaped hat contrasting strongly with the pale, oversized painted basket behind him. Weston’s lighting not only accentuates Rivera’s features through the halo effect it provides, but also vividly captures the artist’s truculent expression as he peers out at the viewer.Exhibition HistoryTMA Photographs From the Museum's Collection Oct.22 - Nov.27 1977

Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI. 1986.

TMA, Jan 22 - June 8, 1999

TMA About Face Sept.30 - Dec.31 2005

Toledo Museum of Art, Looks Good on Paper: Masterworks and Favorites, Oct. 10, 2014-Jan. 11, 2015.

Toledo Museum of Art, Framing Fame: 19th- & 20th-century Celebrity Photography, March 4–June 4, 2017.