Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera was a very famous painter. He painted a lot of murals about the history of Mexico. Some of his paintings showed workers working in factories and/or historical events. Once he was asked to paint a mural in the Rockefeller Center and he included Lenin, a Communist, in the painting. Rockefeller asked him to paint over Lenin's face, but Rivera wouldn't do it and he quit doing the painting and went home. Here is more information about the painting: http://advant.blogspot.com/2006/09/man-at-crossroads-1934-diego-rivera.html
http://www.chapala.com/chapala/ojo2006/diego.html

Some people didn't like Diego Rivera's work because of his political beliefs. He believed in Communism. I heard that he put cannons around his workspace and he wore ammunition things when he painted so he could fend off people who protested about his work.

He was also married to a famous Mexican artist named Frida Kahlo. They were married but their relationship didn't go that well. Diego wanted to live in America for a while and she wanted to go back to America. So she left, but later they got back together. They both painted very different things. He did a lot of murals and she did a lot of self portraits. She only painted things that had happened during her life and Rivera painted a lot of historical or political things.

Diego Rivera did not have that easy of a life because he believed in communism and since his marriage didn't go that well. He had trouble with his career and his personal life. Rivera was kind of a big guy. People say he had a big appetite for food and women. To learn more about him, visit http://diegorivera.com/index.php