Symbolic Landscape: Diego Rivera

The focal point of this painting is the tree that lies central on the canvas. It is also the foremost feature in the picture with the town, sea, and intense foliage falling far behind

Nearby Diego painted a portrait of Paulette Goddard, holding in her hands what she called in a press release, “the tree of life and love”. Just looking at their close proximity you see that they is harmony, happy as a family the fusion between two cultures coming together. (Diego Rivera My Art, My Life) You also see nearby Diego, is his wife Frida Kahlo she is an established Mexican artist who is influenced by indigenous Mexican cultures she symbolizes the passion of the traditions of the Latin American lands he painted a portrait of her in traditional Tehuantepec clothing and wearing a skull pendant around her neck and tiny earrings, (a gift from Pablo Picasso) but the necklace was a symbol of Coatlicue Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and the God of the sun and war. The importance of indigenous woman. (Understanding the Evolution of Diego Rivera’s pg 50,51) Diego Rivera then goes on by saying “and the high mechanical developments of the United States” which you see Dudley Carter, an American sculptor and sophisticated engineer who symbolizes the north and

The foreground of the painting displays quite a few important formal quality details. The lower right quadrant exhibits a comparatively focused escalation in the chiaroscuro of the tree trunks. The crustiness of the deep earthy tones and the lushness make the lower right quadrant appear darker and more jungle-like. In opposition, there are some blue hydrangeas in the same vicinity that provide for a visually appealing contrast to the darker tones that surround them. The blue hydrangeas manifest themselves as wild and uncultivated.

O: Apollo and Daphne, sculpted by Bernini, is a detailed marble sculpture capturing the moment when the God Apollo makes contact with Daphne, who is being transformed into a tree.

El Norte was released in 1983 and set in the middle of Guatemalan civil war. It was directed by Gregory Nava and produced by Anna Thomas. The major theme of this movie is the struggle of young siblings to find a better life in another country as immigrants. The movie is divided into three parts: when the two siblings, Enrique and Rosa flee from their homeland because of a raged war, their attempts to cross Mexico illegally, and arrived in the United States of America, where most people think it’s a “promised land”. The main point of this movie is not the end, but the journey itself. Immigration is one of the most heated and controversial issues until now. By watching this movie, we can see the different perspective from the immigrants.

This painting used of numerous elements and principles of design. Using line showing the contrast between the animal and the floras. Also, the value (tone) and colour used containing dark and light in colours, the tone of the colour on the right of the painting is darker, and lighter colour on the left. Moreover, this landscape created an emphasis (focal point). An animal is clearly shown in the central of the landscape and creates a focal dominance.

Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter whose work was very influential to both Mexican and American cultures in the early twentieth century. Rivera was very passionate about his work and hoped to change the world one day with his creations. His work was rather expressive, showing his historical Mexican roots while also going along with the many revolutions and displaying radical views in his paintings. Rivera’s work is important to the history of art and to the societies of Mexico and America.

It is the first modern landscape in Western art. Though the humans seem to be the main focus, the landscape is just as important.

The Mexican muralist movement produced artwork on walls that defined the social and political atmosphere of Mexico. Diego Rivera was an innovator in the muralist movement that helped depict the Mexican Revolution for its violence and demand for equality among the lower class (Gonzales 240-45). Rivera’s painting, Agrarian Leader Zapata, exemplifies the hardships of the revolution through a group of rebel, lower-class farmers led by Emiliano Zapata who is standing over a dead, elite soldier. Agrarian Leader Zapata, utilizes the contrast of the soldiers, the focus on Zapata, and symbolism to convey the idea that the class divide was the root of violence and the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution. Rivera uses aesthetic disparities the farmers and the soldier to illustrate the class divide present in Mexico.

2. What do you think the landscape is meant to represent? The receding figures on the bridge? The two ships in the background? What does the combination of elements in the painting suggest?

An African American teen, struggles to overcome the hardships of society, wishing to be wealthy. He struggles to overcome the hardships of society, having a lack of resources, few family members he can rely on, and has few friends that he can trust.

We can also see the use of black shades to create a hole at the bottom part of the rock. With his excellent use of colors, we can identify the good, healthy and green grass from the bad, unhealthy, brown grasses. Looking beyond the main focus of the painting, he uses colors to separate the sky from the land in the background creating a solid form of perspective on the painting. He also uses colors to create water forms as seen behind the young character. Now, for the sky, he uses shades of white to magnificently differentiate the thick clouds from the light ones. He also uses this to create a source to light to the whole area. All these put together creates a splendid, realistic and familiar atmosphere for the viewers to relate with.

Relating to the principles of art, the piece uses contrast, pattern, proportion, and scale. The contrast is basically the dark land against the sky; the artist used dark paints to paint the grass and foliage for the terrain, but used light and lively colors for the sky therefore making the painting contrast and beautiful. The pattern in this art piece is basically the way that Frederic Edwin Church renders the foliage and grass, a repetitive pattern makes the painting more aesthetically pleasing and satisfying. Proportionally, the sizes of the terrain and the wildlife are accurate and also make the piece aesthetically pleasing. The scale is a little off because of the fact that the artist wanted to communicate the message that people aren’t as big as the nature around them. The elements of art that are use includes color, shape, and texture. The artist, for the sky, uses blue and pairs it with its complimentary color orange which makes the painting vivid. The artist also renders numerous amounts of organic shapes giving the piece more life. Finally, in regards to texture, the artist renders the foliage very accurately; it’s almost as if you can feel and touch the leaves.

According to (Whitley & Henwood, 2014) the right to life, in its most basic definition, has been encroached for people living with severe mental challenges. Furthermore studies found that people with psychiatric problems have significantly reduced life expectancies, as well as higher standardized

Text has always been an integral part of visual arts and imagery. It has influenced and shaped the art scene all over the world through the various ways it engages with it. The first way text and art interplay is the use of text to come up with the subject matter of the artwork like for example the use of the bible and its stories as the subject of a painting. This somehow seems like a direct connection between text and art. However, there are many other ways in which art and text relate less directly. The term “visual text” is a very obvious example of these relations. Visual text is a text that makes its meaning with images and that can be “read” or decoded like written texts. Visual texts are often carefully constructed by their composers.