A Mural Destroyed

Arguably the most famous mural painting in the Palace of Fine Arts is Diego Rivera's work "Man, Controller of the Universe".  

It was a reworking of a mural that Rivera was commissioned to paint in the lobby of the RCA Building of Rockefeller Center in New York City.  The original was destroyed due to its communist imagery.

Currently, the Palace of Fine Arts is hosting a special exhibition entitled, "Diego Rivera: New Life to a Destroyed Mural".  Last week, I went to see the exhibit.

The exhibit is divided into two halls.  The first deals with a trip which Rivera made to the Soviet Union in 1927.  The artist, a member of the Mexican Communist Party, was invited to participate in the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Russian Revolution.  There were plans for Rivera to paint some murals in Moscow.  However, those projects never came to fruition, probably because of his sympathy for Russian artists who were considered dissidents by the regime and because he admired Leon Trotsky, the main opponent to the totalitarian regime of Stalin.

There are a number of drawings that Rivera did during his stay in Moscow.

 

The second hall deals with the commission that Rivera received in 1932 to paint a mural at the newly built Rockefeller Center.  The mural was to be called "Man at the Crossroads" which would portray man at the controls of modern science and technology.  Rivera presented his preliminary sketches to the Rockefellers.  They knew of Rivera's Communist affiliation, but they did not find the sketches controversial.  A contract was signed stating that the mural would not be different from the sketches.

Some of Rivera's original plans are on display.  Unfortunately, for some reason, photography is not allowed in the second hall.  Here are a couple of photos from the Palace of Fine Arts website.

The sketch above is quite different from the mural that Rivera did.  I am not sure if this is what the Rockerfellers approved.  I looked very carefully at it, and other than a small section in which workers are marching in Moscow's Red Square, there is nothing obviously communist about it.

However, Rivera added a portrait of Lenin to the mural.  Nelson Rockefeller objected, and asked Rivera to remove it.  When Rivera refused, the painting was plastered over.

Before the mural was destroyed, Rivera had photographs taken of his work.  He returned to Mexico City, and in 1934, using the photographs repainted the mural in the newly completed Palace of Fine Arts, renaming it "Man, Controller of the Universe".

Here is the portrait of Lenin which created the controversy.

Rivera made some additions to the Mexico City mural.  He added portraits of Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, the philosophical fathers of communism (the white bearded men to the right).  He also added a portrait of Leon Trotsky, the man holding the banner.

In the nightclub scene, which represents the decadence of capitalist society, he added a portrait of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who in fact was a teetotaler.  Floating above him are syphilis bacteria.

   

I can understand both viewpoints.  Critics of the Rockefellers say that destroying the mural was an act of censorship and vandalism.  On the other hand, Rivera did not abide by his contract.  The painter was paid for his work, and the mural belonged to the Rockefellers.  It was theirs to do with as they pleased.

The mural in the Palace of Fine Arts is a superbly painted piece of political propaganda.