Introduction
Diego Rivera is a Mexican artist famous for his painting of murals. Julia Alvarez is a native of the Dominican Republic, and is a famous writer. These two artists have many similarities. They were both raised in affluent families. They both were exposed to cultural revolution, and they both portray their life experiences in their art. However, the two artists have a significant number of differences. These dissimilarities can be attributed to the level of acceptance and popularity that both have received.
Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera was an artist who lived from 1886 to 1957. He was born in Guanajuato, Mexico. His mother was a doctor and his and his father was a teacher. His parents supported his artistic abilities from an early age. He attended art school in Mexico City and was taught by famous painters. However, his political activism got him expelled from art school. He had always wanted to study art in Europe and later had that opportunity.
He lived in France for a decade, where he became influenced by French impressionists and enhanced his own painting abilities . When he returned to Mexico, he began mural painting of which he became famous for. Rivera was not a typical artist as his style diverted from the traditional and linked to social, political and historical themes. His paintings reflected the culture during the mid-twentieth century.
Rivera traveled through the United States as an artist and introduced murals into art in America in the 1930’s. He was hired to paint murals in public buildings and had exhibits throughout cities in the United States which brought him more popularity. However, his political agenda which was often displayed in his painting, brought criticism as well. Rivera was a member of the Mexican Communist Party. Additionally, the political atmosphere around Rivera while he was growing up was tumultuous as he witnessed the Russian and Mexican Revolution. This became a theme of his art.
Upon his return to Mexico, he continued painting murals in public buildings. His paintings in Mexico depicted the working class and native Mexicans. Rivera’s art became the collective spirit of Mexico and was used to energize the Mexican Revolution. He is the most revered Mexican artist with his radical approach to art and unique style. Even more than seven decades after his death, his art is still admired.
Julia Alvarez
Julia Alvarez is a writer of books, novels, and poetry. She was born in New York City in 1950 and raised in the Dominican Republic until age 10. Her father was a doctor who was involved in politics in the Dominican Republic. He moved his family out of the country when he participated in a failed attempt to oust the dictator. Her affluent family and her Latin American background influenced her writings.
Being raised as a child in the Dominican Republic, Alvarez dreamed of moving to continental America. She believed her upbringing was purely American and had thought that moving to North America would be an answer to her dreams. However, she soon discovered upon arriving in New York City that America did not accept her as she was an immigrant. She did not let this discouragement, however, influence her pursuit of writing. She attended college and received a master’s degree in creative writing. Her work reflects the theme of being “caught between two cultures” as she was not accepted as American nor was she accepted as a Dominican.
Alvarez’s most famous book was How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. The book actually portrayed her life in the United States and the Dominican Republic, and the difficulties of being an immigrant. The book presented fifteen stories about Alvarez’s life and the struggle to adapt to the American culture in New York City. She received both praise and criticism for the publication of her first book. The success of this first book resulted in the furtherance of her career as a writer.
Analysis
Both Rivera and Alvarez are of Latin American decent. Both artists had a parent who was a physician, and both knew from an early age that they were gifted and pursued their career in the arts exclusively. Additionally, each had some exposure to revolution in their life. They reflect their native culture in their art and present their life experiences through their work. These are the similarities between the two artists. These similarities likely attribute to the success of both.
However, there many differences between the two artists. These variations may attribute to the different level and extent of success both have received for their works. The most obvious distinction is their gender. Rivera presents his work as a strong male with outspoken political and social agendas. Alvarez’s work is from a female perspective and is subtler in its approach. This separation in perspective due to gender is one reason for the different levels of fame each has received from their career in art.
Another significant difference between the two artists is their upbringing. Rivera was brought up exclusively in his home country of Mexico. Alvarez, on the other hand, spent the majority of her life in America. This removal from her native roots influence her artistic perspective as well as her acceptance as an artist in her homeland and America. Rivera was widely accepted in his homeland. He was not raised anywhere but his home country. Although he spent time abroad, his departure from his country for one decade did not have any effect on his acceptance there. He spent one decade away from his country while Alvarez only spent one decade in her home country. This is likely another reasons for the different level of popularity and acceptance of their works in Latin America and as a Latin American artist.
As a young adult, Diego Rivera spent ten years in France to further his talent. As a child, Julia Alvarez lived for ten years in her native country of the Dominican Republic. When Rivera returned to Mexico, he became famous for writing about his homeland. His decade away enhanced his skills and popularity. Spending a decade in the Dominican Republic as a native, did not gain Alvarez popularity in her native country nor in America.
The two very also have very distinct themes in their works. Alvarez has a focus on life as an immigrant while Rivera’s work focuses on the life of the native Mexican. Alvarez presents her stories based on the experience of an individual being exposed to two very different cultures, while Rivera’s painting reflects the Mexican culture one hundred percent. This unlikeness also attributes to the different level of acceptance of the two artists in their native countries.
Conclusion
Diego Rivera, as a male Mexican painter, has received extensive fame for his work that not only expressed the lives of the Mexican people but his political agenda as well. Julia Alvarez, as a female writer from the Dominican Republic, although famous, has not received the extent of fame that Rivera has. This contrast is due to several factors. The gender difference is one influential distinction. Rivera reflected his strong masculine identity in his art while Alvarez presented her stories in a subtler feminine manner. Alvarez spent a decade in her home country while Rivera spent a decade away from his home country. The time spent in their homelands attributes substantially to the level of acceptance in their homeland and abroad. Finally, the two artists are very different in theme and presentation. Alvarez addresses life as an immigrant while Rivera presented life as an everyday native. These dissimilarities have resulted in a different level of fame for the two artists in their homelands. However, the similarities cannot be ignored. Both artists had a physician parent. Both artists experienced revolution in their life, and both artists choose to reflect their culture in their art. Although one would think the parallels should be reflected in their success, they have likely not had too much of a contribution.
References
Diego Rivera Biography. (2016). Retrieved from Encyclopedia of World Biography: http://www.notablebiographies.com/Pu-Ro/Rivera-Diego.html
Julia Alvarez Biography. (2016). Retrieved from Encyclopedia of World Biography: http://www.notablebiographies.com/A-An/Alvarez-Julia.html
