The Ancient Indian World 1935

Diego Rivera made this fresco called 'The Ancient Indian World’ in Mexico City, and it’s like a whole world unfolding on the wall. Imagine Rivera up there, brush in hand, layering scene upon scene, figuring out how to tell a complex story within the architecture. He’s building a world from the ground up, trying to figure out how all these bodies relate to each other. The paint is smooth and even, and the figures are carefully delineated with a lot of focus on the contours. I see the way the figures are arranged, some in profile, some full-face, creating a sense of depth and movement. You can feel the rhythm of daily life. This echoes what other muralists were doing, telling stories that speak to the here and now, while also looking back. There is a generosity in his art, an invitation to understand history as something we are all part of. It's like a conversation, isn’t it? Artists riffing off each other, building on what came before, with all these layers of history and meaning.