Art masters: Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera was a revolutionary painter in more ways than one. Attending art school at eleven, by his twenties he 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 USA, 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 those 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 in whom myth and reality fused.