A Weekend with Diego Rivera

The modern Mexican artist talks about his life and work as if entertaining the reader for the weekend

Grade 5-8-Braun assumes Rivera's voice to trace the artist's adult life and focus on his major works. Included are some pieces of technical information on mural production, bits of Mexican history (the dominant subject of his murals), and even a patronizing line or two about his wife, Frida Kahlo. The telling is rather flat, although Rivera's egocentric view of the world is made clear by such comments as, "After completing that project I became the leading painter in the land." But the juices of his personality are drained; the fire that fueled his tempestuous life is missing. A single, matter-of-fact sentence about the headline-producing "controversy" involving his Rockefeller Center mural is indicative of the author's unwillingness to deal with Rivera's strong political persona and his relationship with the Communist party. Anne Neimark's Diego Rivera (HarperCollins, 1992) has a much more comprehensive text, but inadequate illustrations. The many reproductions here are the book's strength; they are clearly printed and demonstrate the range of his murals as well as some line illustrations he did for books. Captions supply additional information.
Kenneth Marantz, Art Education Department, Ohio State University, Columbus
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.