Existing comment:
The Artist:
Roberto Cueva del Rio (1908-1988) was born in in [sic] Puebla, Mexico. At age 15, he won a scholarship to the prestigious San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts in Mexico City, which permitted him to meet its then director Diego Rivera. Rivera subsequently gave him an effusive letter of recommendation to support his candidacy for the Embassy murals. Cueva del Rio started painting here in 1933, but left them unfinished when he returned to Mexico in 1935. He returned in 1941 to complete the murals.
Themes and Styles: Cueva del Rio's murals tend to deal with historical scenes and portraits of heroes. He expresses his nationalism by portraying the uniqueness and diversity of Mexican culture, the dignity of ordinary men and women, and the progress of modern Mexico. When Cueva del Rio's painting style is very much in the Rivera tradition -- strongly modeled figures, bold colors, and heavy symbolism -- he tended to steer clear of the overt political commentary for which Rivera was famous.
Among the individuals we recognize in the mural, the smiling face of the young Aztec mother (above) at the top of the third floor stairs stands out as Lupe Davila, niece of Ambassador Francisco Najera, seen here descending the Embassy stairs in 1944. Moreover, Emma Najera, the Ambassador's daughter (left), appears on horseback in the "Industrialization of Mexico" scene; here she's shown in a wedding announcement from 1942.
Self-Portraiture: Cueva del Rio also painted himself into the murals (above the first floor stairs) and it has long been rumored that the artist had fallen in love with his painted counterpart at right, the ambassador's secretary. In fact, it is thought that his zeal for her was so strong that he painted her into each of the different scenes in the mural. While much of this may be the stuff of Embassy legend, a similar face does consistently appear throughout Cueva del Rio's work at the Institute. |