Vendedora by Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera
1886-1957 | Mexican

Vendedora
(Vendor)

Signed and dated (lower right)
Watercolor on rice paper

Diego Rivera stands among the most important artists of the 20th century, defying the conventions of traditional painting. This watercolor, painted by Rivera in 1937, represents a masterwork within an important part of the artist’s output—his portraits of indigenous vendors. Focusing on a lone woman holding a woven bag, Vendedora explores the dichotomy between the nobility of her trade and the austerity of life in rural Mexico. These sensitive depictions of individuals from Mexico’s working classes are some of the best of his oeuvre.

The woman sits peacefully at the center of this composition with her hands neatly crossed over her wares. A glowing yellow hue frames her head, suggesting a kind of reverence with an almost halo-like form. Rivera often chose laborers as the subjects of his portraits for the pivotal social role that they represented. His hardworking subjects had formed the nation's backbone for centuries, and it was they who had much to gain from the improved social climate following the Revolution of 1910 and the end of Porfirio Diaz’s dictatorship. With her solemn expression, the vendor conveys a sense of integrity and pride in her work, while a bold color palette and rich tapestry of textures bring the composition to life.

The work was painted in 1937 while Rivera was living with Frida Kahlo in Mexico City. He had returned to his home country just a few years before after a four-year sojourn in the United States. There is an intense luminosity in the palette of Rivera's works from this period that is hardly seen in the paintings of his French and American contemporaries, for it was inspired by the light of the Mexican landscape and by colorful, traditional Mexican costumes. The present painting reflects this cultural identity and his compassion for the people of his homeland.

Born in Guanajuato City, Mexico, in 1886, Diego Rivera showed a talent for drawing at a very young age. He moved to Paris in 1907 to live and work with the great gathering of artists in Montparnasse. There, he was exposed to the burgeoning of Cubism, and his work fully embraced this new school of thought. In 1921, Rivera returned to Mexico, where he undertook government-sponsored murals that reflected his communist politics in historical contexts. Aside from the often controversial reactions they received, these works focused on the working-class “everyman” of Mexico and reflected the folk ideals that were familiar and respected within the native community.

Rivera’s works are beloved worldwide, but especially so in his native Mexico, where they have become cornerstones of national identity. As such, in 1964, the Mexican government established export regulations to protect his artworks and keep them in the country, designating them as “artistic monuments.” Thus, finding examples of this master's works outside of Mexico is quite difficult. Rivera’s works also belong to major collections across the globe, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Dated 1937

Image: 15" high x 11" wide (38.10 x 27.94 cm)
Frame: 26 7/8" high x 22 1/2" wide x 2" deep (68.26 x 57.15 x 5.08 cm)

Provenance:
Mary E. Johnston, Glendale, Ohio
Gift from the above, 1973
Private Collection, CO
Private Collection, NY
M.S. Rau, New Orleans

Exhibited:
Cincinnati, Ohio, Contemporary Arts Center, The Mary E. Johnston Collection, April 20 – May 12, 1956