Carnival of Mexican Life. Dictatorship 1936

Diego Rivera made this fresco titled ‘Carnival of Mexican Life. Dictatorship’ at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Rivera’s palette here seems earthy, which for me adds a grounding element to the theatrics of the scene. It's as if the painting is built from the ground up, layer by layer. You can feel the physicality of the medium. Look how he uses the texture of the fresco to enhance the emotional impact. And that face at the top, a symbol of power, yet rendered with such human flaws - the uneven teeth, the bulging ears. It's almost as if Rivera is saying, ‘power is just skin deep’. Thinking about mark making and process, what strikes me is how Rivera uses caricature in the same way that Daumier did. It’s not just about likeness, it's about amplifying certain features to expose the inner character. Art is an ongoing conversation, isn’t it? Each generation building on the last, finding new ways to see, think, and experience the world.