Motherhood Angelina and the Child Diego 1916

Diego Rivera painted *Motherhood Angelina and the Child Diego* with oils, and you can see how he builds up the planes of colour, one against the other, to construct this scene of a woman and child. It makes you wonder what it was like for Rivera, shifting those shapes around, trying to find the right balance. I think he really captures that quiet stillness that comes with motherhood. The woman's face is in shadow, but you can feel her gaze directed downwards towards her child. The colours are so interesting, aren't they? How the yellows and reds contrast with the blues and greens. It reminds me of the kind of conversations artists have across time, like how Cezanne investigated geometric forms and Picasso pushed it further. Rivera takes that language and makes it his own. It's like they are all having this ongoing discussion about how to see the world, one painting at a time.