Diego Rivera: A Graphic Biography

by Francisco de la Mora, José Luis Pescador (Illustrator)

Explores the passions and contradictions—both human and political—that turned the prolific and brilliant painter Diego Rivera into an increasingly universal cultural figure

Diego Rivera was a revolutionary painter in more ways than one. Attending art school at 11, by his twenties he was counted among the most influential figures of the Parisian art scene of the early 20th century, including Picasso, Modigliani, Braque, and Gris. Rivera’s murals, both in his native Mexico and the United States, reflect the contradictory turbulence of his character and times. He met Lenin in Paris, Stalin in Moscow, and offered refuge to Trotsky during his Mexican exile. Meanwhile, his work was commissioned by giants of capitalism: Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller. Rivera’s indefatigable industry was matched by his zest for life, accumulating hundreds of lovers and four wives—including Frida Kahlo, whose formidable partnership is also one of the great love stories of art history. This beautifully realized graphic novel tells the story of the extraordinary life and times of an artist for whom myth and reality fused.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Biography, Art, Nonfiction, History

184 pages, Paperback

Published November 11, 2021

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really like Rivera but the art in the graphic novel is stunning.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful cover, excellent illustrations - just the storyline seems a little disjointed. Doesn’t include how Frida and Diego met later in life other than showing a depiction of their wedding portrait, and certain talking heads are introduced without any segue. If you know Frida and Diego’s history you will love it, but if someone is just learning about them, they may be a little confused.

[Fernando Guzmán · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diego Is the second best Mexican painter in history, after José Maria Velasco. Part of the holy trinity of mexican muralists Top of the world artists that have ever existed worldwide.

[RebL · Rating 3 out of 5]

First: this book is BEAUTIFUL. The art is AMAZING. You had no idea watercolor could be rendered like this.
But: you need to already know the biography of Diego Rivera for it to work. I get it; he lived for 70 years and was a large man who made big art and that's a lot to illustrate, even in nearly 200 pages. But you had better pay close attention, because time flies in this book; sometimes two years over two pages of drawings, and people come and go with no explanation.
I would recommend reading a biography first, after which you can appreciate this amazing graphic novel for what it is.
Five stars for the art, two stars for the storytelling.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The struggle of any graphic biography is that the format is the opposite of compressed. While pictures can convey so much in terms of mood and setting and, in this case, the depiction of art, it is hard to convey long stretches of time, or complicated events. I think the format is best for people about whose lives you either only want a small taste, or who you already have some basic familiarity with.

While there was a lot I appreciated about this book, I fall into neither category. I previously knew almost nothing about Rivera except that he wasn’t always the best husband to Frida, but I did want to understand him and their dynamic better. As a result, I repeatedly found myself frustrated here, by the skips in time, by not feeling like I ever got any motivation for his womanizing.

This biography is more focused on the tension between Rivera’s politics and his art. He, of course, viewed one as coming out of the other, but most of those around him seemed to want him to choose a side – those valuing him for his art wanting him to stay out of troublesome politics, and those who were dedicated to Communism viewing his pursuit of art as not serious, and a distraction.

The art in this is lovely, and the colors incredibly rich throughout. As a basic introduction, this is probably successful – the fact that it inspired more curiosity than it satisfied doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

[Boopathiraj S · Rating 5 out of 5]

கலை கலைகாகவா அல்லது கலை மக்களுக்காகவா என்ற பழைய கேள்விக்கான பதில்களை என்றென்றும் புரட்டி தேவைக்கும், காலத்திற்கும் ஏற்றதுபோல் வளைத்துக்கொள்ளும் ஓவியர்களின் இடையில் மக்களுக்காக இயற்றப்படும் ஒரு படைப்பு தன்னளவில் ஒரு ஆழமும், அதற்கேயான அழுத்த்துடன் கூடிய அழகையும் பெற்றுவிடுகிறது. புறவயமாக தரப்படும் விளக்கங்களைத் தவிர்த்துவிட்டு அந்த ஓவியம் பார்வையாளரிடம் உரையாடுவது, அந்த உரையாடலுகென்று ஒரு அறிவுலக மொழி தேவைப்படாது மக்களின் வலிகள் அவர்களின் நிலத்தில் விழும் வியர்வைப் போன்று, நிறங்களோடு கலந்துபேசும் ஒரு மொழியாக வைத்த மெக்சிகோவின் மக்கள் ஓவியர் டியாகோ ரிவேராவின் வாழ்வும், ஓவியமும் பிரித்தறிய முடியாதபடி பிணைந்திருக்கின்றன. வாழ்வை அறிந்துகொள்ளுதல் என்பது அவரின் தூரிகைகளின் உரசலை இன்னும் நெருக்கமாக அறிந்துகொள்ளும் ஒரு வழியாக இருக்கிறது. Self Made Hero ன் Art Master தொகுதியில் மற்றுமொரு சிறப்பான படைப்பு. புத்தகத்தின் இறுதியில் ஓவியர் குறிப்பிட்டிருக்கும் புத்தகத்தை தயாரிப்பதற்காக ஓவியம் செலவிட்ட நேரம், உழைப்பு, பொருட்களின் விளக்கம் அற்புதமான ஒன்று அது இந்த ஓவியங்களை கலைப்படைப்பென்று மக்கள் உலகத்திலிருந்து பிரித்து செல்லும் மேட்டிமை அழகுணர்ச்சியிலிருந்து தன்னைத்தானே விடுவித்துக்கொண்டு உழைப்பின் குரலாக நிற்கிறது.

[Liz Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a big Frida fan, this graphic novel caught my eye. I don't know as much about Diego, as I do Frida. Much like some of the other reviews, this book offers beautiful illustrations, however, the biography portion of it is lacking. I believe that before going into reading this you have to have some knowledge already on the couple. I found that the timeline breezed by a lot of important information. At times I thought maybe I missed a page or read over something, but in actuality there are just some things that are not explained.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed this as my first graphic novel and I found the ending to be very beautiful.

[Alex Castillo Barona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnífica novela gráfica y biográfica. El trabajo de ilustración tiene un alto nivel artístico desde la parte conceptual hasta la realización, el detalle en el diseño de los personajes y la reproducción respetuosa de la obra de Diego Rivera. Se nota la gran cantidad de tiempo invertido en la lectura e investigación histórica sobre el personaje, las épocas y las escuelas artísticas. Una verdadera gozada de lectura.

[Ellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are amazing in this book, but it let down by the storytelling.

The narrative is very disjointed and at times incoherent. It has clearly been written by somebody who has a great personal knowledge of Rivera. They likely filled in the blanks for themselves whilst writing, but failed to consider the reader’s knowledge.

[Evelyn Mulwray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous artwork.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

extremely informative about the artist - troubled, hardships, driven, but careless with family.

[danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful art, but the writing and organization of the story was just ok.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cursory, as if a muralist was writing the story of a muralist, but the art is exquisite.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf at 50%. The art is gorgeous. I looked at every picture, but it was so hard to follow that I had to give up.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great art. Love the palate.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text was all over the place.. hard to read.. May be too arty for some.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great art but the biographical narrative seemed very disjointed. Perhaps the translation.

[Bionic Staci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great art! The bibliography part is very week.

[Ztu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art was great but the storytelling was shallow.

[Diana Olivares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Expressively illustrated, but the story line was choppy to read.