diego rivera
A towering figure of Mexican modernism, Diego Rivera spearheaded the
Mexican, 1886–1957
revival of monumental fresco painting in his country and in the United
Portrait of Dr. Otto Ruhle
States. With bold colors and assured draftsmanship, he created iconic
1940
scenes that extolled Mexican nationalism and socialist ideals. He also made
Oil on canvas
many easel paintings, such as this portrait of the German Otto Ruhle (1874–
35M × 31 in. (90.2 × 78.7 cm) Gift of Elizabeth B. Blake, 1952.10
1942). A schoolteacher who believed in achieving social reform through education, Ruhle had been active in Germany’s leftist politics before immigrating in 1936 to Mexico, where he became an educational advisor to the country’s socialist government. Rivera accentuated the doctor’s intellectual prowess by depicting him with a broad forehead and a brooding, thoughtful expression. Yet Dr. Ruhle’s informal slouch in his chair and the bright, cheerful palette lend a casual quality more common to Rivera’s paintings of family and friends than political associates.
280
modern
3121-04 DMA handbook Modern-Contemporary [BW 10-11].indd 280
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