Diosas y madres, el arquetipo femenino en Diego Rivera

Abstract

In this paper I examine the representation of the feminine archetype in Diego Rivera´s murals, considering not just his learned use of traditional allegorical symbols, but also, his personal experiences, in particular those in regard to filial love, maternity/paternity, and his very complex amorous relationships with some outstanding women of his time, which in a more or less conscious way, the artist intertwined with extraordinary lyrical imagination in his ample and complex iconographic programs. I conclude that for Rivera, muralism was not only an instrument of political action, such as it is normally recognized by specialized literature, but also, an opportunity to elaborate personal themes, in which paradoxically he reaches a greater degree of universality and transcendence that the one which characterizes his history paintings.