Sacred, Sensual and Sublime: An Iconographic Study of the Female Nude in the Murals of Diego Rivera
Graduation Date
Spring 1998
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program Name
Humanities
First Reader
Leslie Ross, PhD
Abstract
Diego Rivera (1886-1957) played a pivotal role in Mexico's artistic Renaissance. During one prolific decade (1922-1932), Rivera painted nine important mural cycles in which he helped to revive and perfect the tradition of fresco painting in Mexico. These murals expressed Rivera's hopes for an emerging national identity that included Mexico's disenfranchised peoples. In order to help convey his doctrines to a largely illiterate population, Rivera invented diverse allegories which featured the female nude. These allegories glorify the racial and cultural roots of Mexico's indigenous people. This thesis investigates Rivera's murals, the allegorical images and symbols associated with the female nude and the pictorial sources of the artist's inspiration.
-Thesis excerpt-