DIEGO RIVERA (Mexico, 1886- 1957). "El Mecapalero",... Lot 8

DIEGO RIVERA (Mexico, 1886- 1957). "El Mecapalero", 1936. Pencil drawing on paper. Attached is a certificate issued by Victor Salomon, Diego Rivera's great-nephew. Provenance: Gift of Diego Rivera, to the mother of Victor Salomon, the artist's great-nephew. Signed in the lower left corner. Size: 36 x 27 cm; 61 x 53 cm. Sketch for the painting "El campesino" or "El mecapalero" from 1936, reproduced in "Obras, dibujos, y pintura de caballete de Diego Rivera", Ed Fonca, Mexico, 2000. Mecapaleros were a common figure in Mexico's productive economy from pre-Hispanic times until the mid-20th century. They were known by this name because they carried their loads with a mecapal, a cloth that they placed on their foreheads and tied to the bundle that was placed on their backs. Diego Rivera worked on numerous occasions on the representation of the Mecapalero, as it formed part of the popular culture of his country, which he defended so much in his painting. His source of inspiration and his models were the people who made up the deepest Mexico. This work specifically reproduces the 1936 painting, although it should be noted that Rivera returned to the figure of the Mecapalero many times, as can be seen in his 1944 work "Campesino cargando un guajolote" (Peasant carrying a turkey), which belongs to the Collection of the Government of Veracruz. Born in Huanajuato in 1886, Diego Rivera came from a Creole family but his maternal grandmother was Indian. From an early age he stood out because of his drawing skills, which meant that at the age of 10-11 he was already at the academy, attending evening classes. His father did not like it, he wanted him to be a soldier but he wanted to be an artist. At the age of 12 he entered the San Carlos Academy in Mexico, where he received a traditional education at the end of the 19th century. Antonio Fabrés was one of his teachers, but he considers Jose María Velasco, a landscape painter, to be his master. In 1907 Rivera, encouraged by Dr. Atl and thanks to a scholarship given to him by the governor of Veracruz, as well as the money he earned by selling his works in an exhibition promoted by Atl so that the students could sell their works, went to Europe, arriving in Madrid, where he stayed for two years, 1907-1909. On Atl's recommendation he entered the studio of the artist Eduardo Chicharro, a portraitist and symbolist. During those years Rivera made many copies of works from the Prado Museum. He returns to Mexico in the spring of 1921. Vasconcelos hires him to paint murals. He returns alone, apparently because there was no money for more than a ticket, but it seems that the marriage was broken off. As a result of this trip, Rivera never returned to Paris. In addition, Rivera left another mistress and a daughter in Paris. Rivera was appointed director of the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts. There he undertook a radical reform, turning the academy into a workshop, creating a rhythm of work that had much more to do with the Renaissance workshops, as the muralists did. Another thing was that the students themselves were self-managed, making it a right for the students to choose their teachers, the school staff and the method of work. There was strong opposition from conservative sectors such as teachers, artists and students, and he had to resign as director of the academy. During these years he was also expelled from the communist party. In 1930 he began to look to North America, where he already had a reputation. Rivera made his first foray to North America in 1930, with a series of commissions. He was again called upon by the Minister to finish the projects he had half finished, and in 1932 he returned to America, where he consolidated his artistic career.