The Market 1924

Diego Rivera painted this scene of 'The Market' directly onto the walls of the Secretariat of Public Education in Mexico City. Can you imagine the sheer scale of this project? I think of Rivera up there on the scaffolding, brush in hand, surrounded by the colours of the market – ochres, browns, and muted greens. Look at the density, the way the figures cluster together, weighed down with their goods. This is so different to how I approach a painting. I wonder, what was he thinking about as he laid down these layers of pigment? About how to represent a community? Or how to create a modern, monumental art? Rivera has captured the energy of daily life. And in doing so, he reminds me that art is always a conversation, a back-and-forth between artist, artwork, and the world around us.