2. Background
• Dec. 8, 1886- Nov. 24, 1957 (Age 70)
• Wealthy middle class family
• Wife Frida Kahlo, fellow artist
• Influences on his future art work start when he goes to
Europe in 1907
3. cubism (1913-1917)
• Influences: Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque
• Depth of field and realistic portrayal of light
Sailor at Lunch
(1914)
Portrait of Ilya Ehrenburg (1915)
4. Post impressionism
• Admired work of Paul Cézanne
• Use of simple forms and shapes
• Vibrant colors
• Thick paint application
• Real life subject (End settle on Realist style)
5. Renaissance fresco
• Italy – Da Vinci and Michelangelo
• Mural painting types
• Done on plasters on walls or ceilings
• National Palace in Mexico
City
6. COMISSIONED AT MoMA
• MoMA second monographic exhibition
• 6 weeks before Dec. 22, 1931, given studio space
• With 2 assistants, made 5 “portable murals”
• Additional 3 murals using NY subjects
• Themes revolved around revolution, social
inequity, and social conditions of urban working
class during great Depression