La Era (The Threshing Floor) 1904 (oil on canvas) 1904

Diego Rivera painted ‘La Era’ in 1904 with oil on canvas. What a landscape! Those warm, dry colors. It looks like he was really taken with the way the light fell on the scene, which totally makes sense to me. I’m thinking about Rivera, a teenager, painting this. Look at the shadows. He knew exactly how to place them, what color to make them. But painting outside can be tough. The light changes, the wind picks up, and you’re always racing against the clock. I wonder if he knew then he’d become one of the most famous painters ever? Look how he’s captured the feeling of a hot day, that dusty light—like he’s right there in the moment. Early work, sure, but he’s already in conversation with the long history of painting. It’s like painters are always talking to each other, across time, you know?