Retrato de María Félix 1948

Diego Rivera painted this portrait of María Félix using oils, with a surprising kind of softness. Look at the texture of her skin. It's almost porcelain, like a doll, but then those intense eyes pull you in. There's a push and pull between the hyper-realism and the dreamlike quality, heightened by the drama of the dark and moody background. I love how the folds of the fabric cascade around her hand, each line of the drapery is carefully rendered. The hand is so lifelike, especially those perfectly painted red nails, yet there's a slight disconnect between the hand and the rest of the painting. Rivera’s attention to detail reminds me of some of the old masters, like Ingres, yet Rivera’s other works, especially his murals, have a much more expressionistic, socially conscious edge. Maybe this painting is just a moment of pure, indulgent beauty. It’s a reminder that art can be many things at once, a constant conversation across time and styles.