Mr.

Brennan
Art Institute Project

Portrait of Marevna
By Diego Rivera

About the Artist/Portrait

Diego Rivera was born in 1886 and grew up in Mexico. At the age of three, he was
caught drawing on the walls of his house by his parents. Instead of stifling the behavior, his
parents decided to have chalkboards and canvas put onto the walls for him to draw on. Diego
was later sponsored by a governor in his early career to study art in Europe, and wound up in
Paris studying Cubism under Pablo Picasso. The art shown below was influenced by this time
in his life, as evidenced by the Cubist style used for this painting. Diego is well known for the
murals he created in a number of major cities. He was married twice to another famous
Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. Depicted below is Deigos Russian artist mistress, whom he
depicted with a negative look/vibe to her in the painting, as evidenced by the frown and
squinting eye on her face. He also incorporated some elements of Cubism into this work. The
green area of the portrait is actually textured/layered, not painted, evidence of his early
influence in Cubism.

Portrait of Marevna, c. 1915

Oil on canvas