History of medicine diego rivera

Dominating the center is a large figure that appears to be an Aztec deity, encircled by smaller vignettes that depict various medical practices and scenes across different time periods. To the left, historical scenes of indigenous and traditional medicine practices are depicted, while modern medical advancements and practices appear on the right side.

Trees on either side of the mural frame the composition, providing a sense of life and growth. The overall imagery encompasses the struggle and progress within the realm of health and medicine in Mexican society. View Image in Fullscreen. The importance of social movements to the development of public health policies illustrated by Rivera in continues to be relevant in Latin America today where increasing millions still lack the benefits of health care and social security.

Metadata Show full item record. Stone masonry. Teotihuacan, Mexico. Wagner Murals at Teotihuacan. Fragment titled Feathered Serpent and Flowering Trees. Volcanic ash, lime, mineral pigment, and mud backing. Early colonial document. Vatican Library, Italy. Tlatilco Mask of Life and Death. Middle or Early preClassic period, B. Antonio Tejeda.

Detail of diagram of Bonampak murals, room three, structure one. Carnegie Institution of Washington. See pages 38, History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of left and right bottom sections of the central wall representing childbirth. See pages 44, History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of top and bottom of the right section of an anonymous native woman pregnant then giving birth.

See pages 45, Unknown Artist.

History of medicine diego rivera

Sculpture of Tlazolteotl-Ixcuina. Nineteenth century. Mechanized Motherhood. Leopoldo Mendez and Pablo O'Higgins. The Great City of Tenochtitlan, details of left section and uppermost center section. Fresco series. Mexica AztecCentral Mexican. Page thirty and detail of Tlaloc impersonator. Date is unknown, most likely sixteenth century.

See pages 68, History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, histories of medicine diego rivera from the right section of native healers with designated paper headdresses. See pages 73, 74, Rufino Tamayo. Birth of Our Nationality. Vinylite on canvas. His works provoked and stimulated the viewer to rethink their position as active members of a larger urban community.

Rivera's visual narratives deployed the past as a means to link the present with the uncertainties of history, situated in the modern, in order to familiarize the viewer with the new ideals emerging at the time. The viewer partakes in an ongoing regeneration of thoughts and actions that challenge and participate in the institutionalized modern healthcare system.

This analysis of Rivera's mural representing the new social security for the urban population of Mexico City argues that both the mural and the artist encourage the viewer to continually reevaluate the benefits and consequences of social medicine under an institutionalized bureaucratic structure. There exists an extensive amount of scholarship on the identification of each scene displayed on the mural, therefore, included in this study is a supplemental Appendix I where clarifications and new interpretations are noted.

Furthermore, the left modern and right indigenous sections of the central wall will be described as the viewer's left and right. Capable of servicing over twenty-five thousand patients with over eight hundred rooms available for emergency and maternity services, the Hospital de La Raza building opened in October as a marker of Mexico's pursuit for modernization.

Negotiations with private businesses and institutions, mainly from the United States, allowed the purchasing of electronic services, such as cooking and laundry machines, x-ray, surgery and laboratory rooms. These negotiations also included contracting technical staff to be sent to Mexico for the initial preparation of national technicians and operators.

Upon entering the lobby the sheer size of the mural instantly overwhelms the viewer, intense warm and cool colored figures along with somber grey toned corners and mosaic detail captivate one's gaze. J: Prentice Hall,pp. Salvador Barros Sierra. The contract contains fifteen clauses, all of which were to be met by Rivera as agreed by the project committee.

As stated on the contract's second clause, Rivera was to paint the central theme "Grand Figure of Tlasolteolt Mexican Goddess of Fecundity and Medicine. Rivera could have also "experimented with industrial paints, a spray gun, and photography, using for example a projector to distend images on the wall, as he explained in his important text How to Paint a Mural.

Rivera was given a strict six month deadline starting ten days after signing the agreement, any delays and he was to pay out of pocket for the remaining costs. The cost of the project was an estimated seventy-eight million seven hundred and fifty Mexican pesos. Rivera was given about thirty percent, or twenty-three thousand six hundred twenty-five pesos.

The recorded end date was on November 28th, Since the early nineteen fifties IMSS commissioned Mexican artists and sculptors in order to culturally, nationally, and socially identify with the urban general public. Siqueiros for the entrance to the auditorium commissioned and executed from At this point both artists were well known, but more importantly, the presence of their artworks connected the social security institution to Mexican nationalism and culture.

Entering the nineteen fifties Mexico's government expanded social security and began to establish a network of medical and administrative branches within the urban community of Mexico City. Entering the nineteen fifties after World War II, Mexico emerged a creditor nation and began to fund the nation's first public hospitals on loan. The national movement towards rapid industrialization required low wages for the working class, which basically sacrificed the labor force for capital accumulation.

In general, the rise in urban and national population prompted national policies to develop an institutional healthcare system in order to sustain and maintain the continual rise in demand for primary care. With the construction of public works, projects on the expansion and advancement of the drainage system, the modern city transformed itself into a sanitized health-conscious environment.

The late nineteenth century governing elite attempted to modify the visual aspect and sanitary conditions of the city. The fact that a large percentage of national resources, foreign loans and investment were directed towards the city's public works, buildings and historical monuments was congruent with the centralization of economic and political power by the executive branch of government located in the capital.

One significant aspect of the muralist movement was the involvement of the state as the patron for art that helped to establish the cultural and political framework by which muralism as a national art was established and promoted. However, most often the state did not coincide with the muralists' own conception of their role or with the social message their art conveyed.

Vasconcelos was a key figure in creating the relationship between the muralist movement and the state as patron, which in way helped popularize Rivera throughout the twentieth century. For example, Vasconcelos established state-run projects, such as the muralist movement and widespread public education, which fostered a new sense of national identity and pride for Mexico's ancient history, culture and traditions.

One of the earliest mural projects that contracted Rivera, coordinated by Vasconcelos, was at the Ministry of Education building and the auditorium for the National Preparatory School in Mexico City in Despite the fact that the true gritty nature of indigenous assimilation and industrialization was glossed over by politicians it was more forcefully examined and reinterpreted through visual expression by artists like Rivera- including David A.

In order to asses Rivera's shift from a European style fresco depicting a mix of native indigenous traditions and Judeo-Christian figures in the mural Creation,to his final mural at the Hospital de La Raza one must examine Rivera's artistic growth in Mexico and Europe Figure 6. At the Academy he studied a strict program, consisting of classical European painting of landscapes, still life, etc.

Atl contributed technical skill as well as interpretations of the past that sparked Rivera's developing fondness and romantic understanding of ancient culture and Mexico's natural environment. Early landscape paintings suggest that Rivera initially attempted to develop his artistic skills under European standards but with the subject being the Mexican countryside or sites of ancient settlement.

He spent fourteen years in Spain, Italy, and France from January to July and did not permanently return to Mexico until he was thirty-four. Rivera briefly visited Mexico in He sold all his paintings and immediately returned to Paris, France. In his Zapatista Landscape, Rivera combined the Cubist language with Mexican revolutionary and landscape imagery which exemplified how the artist began to formalize a new method of expressing the social and political realities that were increasingly engaging his attention Figure 7.

The use of bright bold colors and of Mexican volcanoes, a carbine, and a sarape are details that art historian Ida Prampolini noted as a strong shift from Cubism to realistic subjects with a socio-political charge. In Cubism there are many elements that do not fit this specific need. Using a design method that was specific to geometric calculations and symmetry Rivera's portrait of an anonymous mathematician corresponds to a more realistic portrayal of subjects.

Stylistically, Rivera continued to produce art that reflected European techniques, such as geometrically organized realistic portraitures, and did not begin to incorporate ancient mythology or iconography until after this point. The historical narrative as a thematic platform for the frescos in Mexico City introduced a stylistic technique developed by Rivera that demonstrated his interest in public art as a means of producing visual literacy for the masses.

It is important to note that although Rivera is recognized as a prominent Mexican muralist his artistic career developed abroad and was strongly influenced by European perspectives. In most of his murals, starting in the nineteen twenties and continuing into the fifties, Rivera incorporated historical narratives for his frescoes concerning the indigenous past demonstrating to the audience a visual interpretation or preference to incorporate the indigenous as subject.

River drew emphasis on the shading only to the head, and side arms outlining its three-dimensionality while retaining a simple outline for the body Figure 9. Simultaneously, Rivera began an interest in collecting ancient artifacts and practiced the reproduction of art styles and techniques of the past. This analysis of Rivera's perspective on modern art and the use of the ancient past argues that after the nineteen twenties and into the fifties his art conveyed a combination of various modern European, Mexican, and American philosophies that influenced artists throughout the early twentieth century, such as Western Primitivism, Indigenismo, and social realism.

The bureaucratic healthcare system portrayed in the mural at the Hospital de La Raza continues Rivera's "vocabulary of realism" that prompted the viewer to comprehend that throughout time the demand for social medicine has transformed, adapting and adopting new social and cultural constructs for each generation. After his training in Europe, Rivera's later artworks in Mexico City and internationally are a testament to the process of modernity- continually fragmenting into new ideas to be critically examined as well as acted upon throughout the course of history.

Primitivism, Indigenismo, and social realism are conveyed in Rivera's artworks as all-encompassing notions that aim to redefine the confines of bureaucracy or classification, which is essentially what Rivera consciously persisted to challenge throughout his personal and artistic life. Helms and L. As discussed in Jack Flam's Primitivism and Twentieth Century Art, Primitivism refers not only to artists' use of formal ideas from the works of so-called Primitive cultures, but also a "complex network of attitudes about the processes, meanings, and functions of art and about culture itself.

Modern artists saw Primitive art as a unique kind of pictorial inventiveness and imagination. Modern artists were involved in reconstructing form, abandoning the naturalism of the Renaissance, and embracing fragmentation. Artists borrowed mythological concepts and iconography from the ancients in order to create new contexts for the modern.

Art produced through Primitivist lenses, however, did not focus on the accurate account of ancient or indigenous art, culture, and traditions. Instead, the use of ancient artifacts or the styles was for reinterpretation and re-imagination of the exotic forms of native art. The idea that the origins of Primitive art are lost in time allowed artists a substantial amount of romantic speculation and inventiveness.

Moreover, Primitivism also held the potential —although not often realized— to elevate indigenous tradition by drawing them into consideration. The inclusion of such details was not only a Primitivist exploration of an ambiguous ancient ritual but a reflection of how the artist portrayed visual triggers that signified both the ancient and modern interpretation of an unknown and uncertain reality.

Rivera conceptualized his own artistic or individual character rooted with indigenous origins as a means to affirm his visual representations of the Mesoamerican past as aesthetically authentic. In his memoires, he would express how his native caregiver Antonia, a Tarascan woman who nursed Rivera back to health at the age of two, became a mother figure that connected Rivera with an indigenous upbringing.

In Madrid, for example, he was nicknamed "el salvaje mexicano, the Mexican savage, and in Paris le tendre cannibale, the sweet cannibal," due to his physical build and his charismatic, often 20 Flam, "Preface and Introduction," in Primitivism and Twentieth Century Artpp. However, the use of cannibalism and human sacrifice to create a persona for himself in Europe exemplifies the artist's Primitivist tendencies that aimed to incorporate cultural traditions of the past as a means to invent his own artistic character.

Rivera was closely acquainted with prominent figures who conducted visual and textual research of the Mesoamerican past, such as Alfonso Caso and Miguel Covarrubias. Early twentieth century archeologists most often concerned their study of the pre-Columbian world on the discussion of myth and religious tradition, rather than ask critical questions regarding ancient societies' practical reality, such as politics or social issues.

They early twentieth century archeologists never questioned the archeological record with regard to cultural change or complexity, nor were they interested in retrieving the culturally specific function and context of ancient artifacts- issues that preoccupied a later generation of archeologists. Therefore, it was not strict research for critical examination of one subject but an intellectually informed overview of the past that served as a prime catalyst for artistic exploration.

The indigenous populations depicted in most of Rivera's artworks are not, and perhaps were not intended initially to be, direct or accurate representations of any specific indigenous peoples. The mythological and iconographical symbolisms may be accurately reproduced or placed into proper context within the narrative, yet, the native figures are a generalized native populace that referred to the region of Central Mexico.

In the mural History of Medicine in Mexico Rivera presented on both sections of the central wall an indigenous populace of what could be descendents of the Nahuatl speaking people of Mesoamerica, or the Nahua. Therefore, one must explore further the motive surrounding Rivera's repetitive use of Mesoamerican iconography and native looking figures in response to modernity.

Rivera could have imagined historical encounters in his life that linked himself to the native ancient past of Mexico to not only create an artistic persona but also to give validity to his efforts in terms of his portrayal of the indigenous and mixed populations of his country. Once in Mexico City Rivera's public art legitimized the modern ideas that introduced a reaffirmation or vindication of the cultural traditions and practices of the native people that stemmed from the discussions he had with fellow artists and Vasconcelos in the early twenties.

The post-revolutionary period in Mexico was of a nation rebuilding "trust" and "unity" between the government and the public. The concept of Indigenismo, which sprouted from the traumas of war and revolt, called forth a national movement toward a new social construct that could potentially make up a new identity for the modern nation.

The agrarian rural population, majorly indigenous people, was integrated into a bureaucratic system that promised a smooth accommodation process into a modern 25 See Betty Ann Brown, "The Past Idealized: Diego Rivera's use of Pre-Columbian Imagery," in Diego Rivera: A Retrospective : pp. Also, Diego Rivera, Arte y Politica : pp. Rivera's mural in the Hospital de La Raza continued the portrayal of the constantly developing relationship between the modern and the indigenous, such as the depiction of the group of people requesting access to primary healthcare on the top right and left sections of the central wall Figure In a social realist sense, the depiction of the Mexican populace of both past and present generations are not exact or imitative of the actual reality or history but visual conduits of modern ideas.

The point of view, or the communication of the idea, was the focus which "sometimes allowed the history of medicine diego rivera to transform objective reality into symbols of transcendent meaning. Meaning, the mural at the Hospital de La Raza is an amalgamation of Rivera's Primitivist imaginative lenses recreating an interpretation of how ancient and modern society has dealt with the issue of social security.

Graham Literature on the artist Diego Rivera and his works internationally is extensive. The majority of scholarship concerning the mural History of Medicine in Mexico: People's Demand for Better Health tends to focus on the identification of iconography, explanations of the various illustrated medical practices, the mythos surrounding the significance of childbirth, and the thematic concept of a universal dualism such as life and death.

Contemporary scholarship has introduced analysis on the indigenous right section in order to comment on Rivera's pseudo-accuracy and idealist perspective on the ancient past. For example, Betty A. Brown's essay, "The Past Idealized," discussed thoroughly how Rivera incorporated and borrowed concepts from ancient Mesoamerican iconography only to construe the original contexts of the influential objects.

Scholars must not conclude that Rivera did not fully understand or attempt to move beyond merely reproducing and manipulating ancient iconographical meaning. Further investigation of the mural in the Hospital de La Raza clarified one possible approach to Rivera's inventiveness of the ancient past. The indigenous communities shown on the right and left sections are not strictly idealized or romantic representations of native peoples, but stylistic features that highlight the diversity of symbolism and culture rooted in Mexico.

Catherwood and Lloyd Stephens introduced Mexican art and culture as a distant fantasy where Rivera stressed a tangible sense of realism. She concluded that Rivera aimed to "open our eyes," and that the viewer must engage with the murals as they are "statements of political will, integrators of nationality, silent accomplices or comrades of men, provoked to action.

The published volume was distributed to specific institutions and is not easily accessible to the public. The volume consisted of various essays chronologically discussing the relationships IMSS has established with artists, architects, and the continually changing Mexican government. My visual analysis takes into consideration what contemporary scholars like Prampolini and Brown discussed, and attempts to further explore their conclusions by focusing on specific scenes within the mural.

I propose that the final image consciously and unconsciously provokes the viewer to consider their engagement with modern art as an active process that outlines one's position within the institutionalized system. Combined with Rivera's socio-political awareness, such as his strong interests in Marxism and Leninism, his art became a re-vindication of indigenous culture and tradition as a means of raising a "collective consciousness" towards modernization.

The pseudo-accuracy of Rivera's historical imagery was perhaps a persuasive technique to familiarize the viewer with an uncertain past, invented for the present, as a means to potentially re-contextualize the modern 32 Barbara Braun, Pre-Columbian Art and the Post-Columbian World, pp. It upheld the native art tradition as a model for a socialist art, according to El Machete'The art of the Mexican history of medicine diego rivera is the most important and vital spiritual manifestation in the world today, and its Indian traditions lie at its very heart.

It is great precisely because it is of the history of medicine diego rivera and therefore collective. Therefore, one must reconsider Rivera's visual articulation of Mesoamerican culture, in this case Nahua mythology, symbolism and medicine, and analyze their relationship relative to the push for modernity throughout the industrial era. My thesis on Rivera's final mural in Mexico City argues that the image as a whole strongly conveys a multilayered dialogue between the artist, the viewer, and the past.

The mural History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health actively engages with the viewer through representations of invented traditions that demonstrate the dichotomous relationship between the past and present. Interaction with the mural is necessary in order to become aware of both Rivera's own personal realizations and a nations' choice to move forward towards modernization.

The viewer partakes in an ongoing regeneration of thoughts, movements, and actions, described earlier as the power of the "collective consciousness," that channel the fluctuations of modernity by questioning the institutionalized system and the organic indigenous perspective. This study is divided into two main chapters. Chapter one begins with critical visual analyses of the mural as a whole image, including the side walls that curve around the main central wall.

Chapter one argues that Rivera's artistic vision —which incorporated notions from Primitivism, Indigenismo, and social realism— manifested itself as a visual map of socio-political issues that were made identifiable to modern viewers through "invented traditions. Hobsbawm argued that certain everyday routines or set of practices, "normally governed by overtly or tacitly accepted rules," that have existed are often "invented traditions" based loosely off historical facts in order to legitimize the ideology of the time.

What types of invented traditions are present within the mural? Why are they represented within an image about social security? Focusing on the depiction of childbirth chapter one identifies an invented tradition, the normalization of a specific practice in modern medicine, as a vital detail that portrayed an identifiable instruction on childbirth as well as a critical outlook on the mechanization of medicine.

Chapter one further explores the notion of creating "invented traditions" for modern societies and how the modern statecraft gradually implemented certain social norms in society as a means of establishing an "abridged map of its legible society," 33 Eric Hobsbawm, "Introduction: Inventing Traditions," in The Invention of Tradition New York: Cambridge University Press,pp.

Scott's, Seeing Like a State. See also his History of Mexico. Tom Gurney in an art history expert. Tom has also published a number of books related to art history and continues to contribute to a number of different art websites. You can read more on Tom Gurney here. Become an art expert in minutes.