Mother and Child by Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera
1886-1957 | Mexican

Mother and Child

Signed and dated "Diego Rivera 1934" (lower right)
Tempera on plaster

In this intimate masterwork, Mother and Child, the great Diego Rivera illustrates all of his genius in a depiction of profound tenderness. Created after Rivera's return from the United States, this work reveals the artist at the peak of his powers. The luminous palette reflects Mexico's brilliant light and cultural vibrancy, while his masterful composition draws us into the sacred space between mother and child.

Though best known for his monumental public art, Rivera uses his innovative "portable mural" technique here, applying it to plaster for exceptional color stability and vibrancy reminiscent of traditional fresco methods. This rare and pioneering approach is documented in a letter Rivera wrote to the painting's original collector, expressing his deep affection for the work and providing guidance on preserving this unique medium. Measuring nearly three feet high, the composition's emotional force is profound, allowing the bond between mother and child—one of Rivera's most significant motifs—to become the painting's singular focus.

Most works by Rivera of this caliber already reside in prestigious institutional collections around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. Additionally, Rivera’s masterpieces have been declared national artistic monuments of Mexico since 1959, making it illegal to export them from the country. It is thus exceedingly rare to find such a monumental masterwork as this one, which has been well documented as having left Mexico in 1934 and remaining in important American and Canadian private collections ever since.

Diego Rivera, born in Guanajuato City, Mexico in 1886, demonstrated an extraordinary aptitude for drawing at a young age. He embarked upon his formal art education at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico, before relocating to Paris in 1907 to immerse himself in the rich artistic milieu of Montparnasse. It was there that he was steeped in the burgeoning movement of Cubism, and his oeuvre fully embraced the revolutionary artistic movement. His works attracted the attention of the world’s most prestigious art patrons, including Nelson Rockefeller, for whom he painted a controversial mural in 1934. Rivera frequently selected children as the primary subjects of his portraiture, casting them as symbols of hope for Mexico's bright future. The young sitters, like this mother and child, embodied the hope of the improved social climate that emerged in the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Through the perceptive gazes of his subjects, Rivera explores the tension between the purity of youth and the austere realities of life in rural Mexico.

Dated 1934

Plaster: 30 3/4” high x 23” wide (78.1 x 58.4 cm)
Frame: 39 1/8” high x 31 1/8” wide x 3 3/8” deep (99.4 x 79.1 x 8.5 cm)

Provenance:
Collection of Aline Rhonie Hofheimer Brooks (1909 - 1963), New York, acquired from the artist
Sale: New York, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., Modern Paintings, Drawings, and Sculptures, Sale 2214, October 17, 1963, lot 130, p. 35, illustrated
Collection of Abraham David Braun, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Sale: Palm Beach, Florida, Trosby Galleries, Inc., February 6, 1968, lot 31
Collection of Maxwell Cummings, Canada
By descent from the above
M.S. Rau, New Orleans

Literature:
Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Diego Rivera Catálogo General de Obra de Caballete, Mexico, 1989, no. 1080, p. 143
Bertram D. Wolfe, Portrait of Mexico, plate no. 38, illustrated