The Ancient Indian World 1935

Diego Rivera made *The Ancient Indian World*, a fresco painting, in the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City. The way the paint is spread—thin and flat, almost like watercolor—makes the whole scene feel both epic and dreamlike. You can see the details of life in pre-Columbian Mexico, all painted in this very accessible way. The colours are earthy but not drab, they suggest the heat and life force of the land. Look at the figures at the bottom, the ones fighting. There's a sense of urgency and chaos in their movements, a real dynamism. But then, look up at the calm, almost serene faces of the figures above. There's a contrast there that I find really compelling, a kind of visual metaphor for the complexities of history. Rivera’s politics were bound up with his art, weren’t they? Like a Mexican Léger, he wanted to make murals that spoke to the people. You see echoes of that impulse in artists like Thomas Hart Benton, who also wanted to tell grand stories about his country. Art is always a conversation, isn’t it?