PROPERTY FROM A CALIFORNIA PRIVATE COLLECTION
Lot 84
DIEGO RIVERA
(1886-1957)
Soplador de vidrio
6 December 2022, 14:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$19,125 inc. premium
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DIEGO RIVERA (1886-1957)
Soplador de vidrio
signed and dated 'Diego Rivera 32.' (lower right)
charcoal on Japon paper
15 1/4 x 10 13/16 in (38.8 x 27.4 cm)
Executed in 1932
signed and dated 'Diego Rivera 32.' (lower right)
charcoal on Japon paper
15 1/4 x 10 13/16 in (38.8 x 27.4 cm)
Executed in 1932
Footnotes
We are grateful to Professor Luis-Martín Lozano for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.
Provenance
David Anderson Gallery, New York, no. 22031.
Private collection, US.
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, June 1, 2001, lot 100.
Acquired at the above sale by the previous owner; their sale, Bonhams, London, June 30, 2021, lot 11.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.
Diego Rivera's depictions of members of the working class have long established the nature of his relationships to Mexico, the United States, and Communist ideology. His friendships and intimate relationships—especially his marriage to renowned Mexican painter Frida Kahlo—illustrate a community, a notable dedication to the everyday citizen. The present lot depicts a glassblower intensely focused on the task in front of him. As opposed to the carefully crafted court scenes of Velazquez, the canonical Old Master whose works Rivera studied in Madrid as a young adult, Soplador de Vidrio exudes a quiet, meditative study of two men singularly focused on their immediate tasks. The present work on paper, executed in 1932, brings out the intention behind Rivera's technique, especially in view of the infamous rejection of Rivera's murals commissioned by the Rockefeller family only a year later. Soplador de vidrio, a gorgeous example of Rivera's ability to bring life to a simple, everyday scene, reminds viewers of the purpose behind Rivera's figurative drawings and paintings—illustrating the lives of those who are often marginalized within the realm of fine art.