Rivera, Diego (1886-1957)
Niña con máscara (Young Girl With a Mask)
1939
Oil on canvas, 107.3 x 54.6 cm
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford
This young girl holds a skull mask, a popular symbol for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), the annual Mexican holiday that honors the deceased. Such masks are integral to the elaborate and celebratory rituals for returning spirits that include feasts, parades, and creating altars with offerings of candy, food, and toys. Diego Rivera took great pride in portraying Mexico’s people. In the 1920s, he was inspired by the political ideals of the Mexican Revolution and chose to make art that reflected the lives of the working class. Rivera and his fellow muralists were hired to create large-scale scenes for American buildings during the 1930s. These public art projects raised awareness of modern Mexican art. Many major museums, including the Wadsworth Atheneum, turned their attention to exhibiting and collecting in this area. Museum director A. Everett “Chick” Austin Jr. purchased this painting on a trip to Mexico in 1939. (WA)