Figure Symbolizing the Asiatic Race 1951

Diego Rivera created this mural of the 'Figure Symbolizing the Asiatic Race' using a mix of oil and encaustic. The colours are so striking, the oranges contrasting with the greens and blues, pulling you right in. You can tell the whole thing was built up layer by layer, a real process of addition and subtraction. Look how Rivera has handled the flesh of the central figure, it’s almost luminous. Thick but translucent, built up of warm yellows, it's so solid, yet so dreamlike. Then there's that white halo around the figure's midsection, alluding to ideas of fertility. The way the light seems to be emanating from within. It's like the paint itself is alive. Rivera reminds me of Leger, in that they both had a knack for monumental forms. Art is a conversation, and it's never really finished. So much is left unsaid in this piece, and that is where we come in.