Diego Rivera: A Retrospective by Linda Banks Downs, et al.

A must-have for Rivera admirers
This book is the most comprehensive examination of Diego Rivera’s art that I have ever seen. It truly is a retrospective, covering all aspects of his career. The book has been compiled and designed to be the perfect synthesis of coffee-table portfolio and scholarly study in which the text and images unite to create a fitting tribute worthy of this master artist. The book contains over 400 images of Diego Rivera’s art, most of which are reproduced in color. The text begins with a detailed chronology of Rivera’s life and career, illustrated with over 250 images. This is followed by ten essays by various authors, all generously illustrated, on diverse subjects such as the political and historical dimensions of Rivera’s work, the influence of cubism and pre-Columbian art on his work, Rivera’s influence on American art of the 1950s, and specific categories of his oeuvre such as murals, portraits, self-portraits and drawings. In all cases the authors provide valuable context and insight into Rivera’s work, in prose that is neither overloaded with inaccessible theory nor dumbed down for the general reader. The book ends with the 98-page “Mural Census,” an invaluable resource which provides detail on the history and content of every mural Rivera ever painted, including the obscure and nonextant. This section not only provides photographs, but also detailed, enumerated diagrams that explain the architectural layout of the buildings in which the murals were housed and the historic personages and Pre-Columbian subject matter depicted within them. Last but not least, there’s an extensive bibliography on Rivera as well.

This is the ultimate one-volume reference on Rivera. No true fan of his art should be without it.
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