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Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda ParkDream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park © Alfredo Dagli Orti/Art Resource, NY © 2013 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F./ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park

Diego Rivera. 1947–1948 C.E. Fresco.

Curator Note

"A massive mural compressing 400 years of Mexican history into a stroll in the park. Rivera places himself as a child holding hands with a skeleton (La Catrina), flanked by Frida Kahlo. It is a dense narrative of heroes and villains, exploring the complex Mexican identity (Mestizaje) and the cycle of life and death."

Form

  • Fresco (wall painting).
  • Horror vacui (fear of empty space) - packed with figures.
  • Bright, festive colors.
  • Surrealist juxtaposition of historical figures.
  • Three sections: Conquest (left), Porfiriato/Dictatorship (center), Revolution (right).

Function

  • To educate the public about Mexican history.
  • To celebrate Mexican identity.
  • To reclaim public space (Hotel del Prado lobby).
  • To memorialize Rivera's life and loves.
  • To criticize the elite and church.

Content

  • Center: La Catrina (Skeleton in hat) holding arm of Posada (printmaker).
  • Child Diego: has a toad in his pocket (symbol of himself).
  • Frida Kahlo: holding a Yin-Yang (balance).
  • Left: Cortes, Inquisition, Sor Juana.
  • Right: Zapata, Workers, Police brutality.

Context

  • Mexican Muralism movement.
  • Rivera was a Marxist.
  • La Catrina: invented by Posada to mock Mexicans acting European.
  • Alameda Park: traditional promenade site (and former Aztec market/Inquisition burning site).
  • Combines history and memory.