Lithograph, Los abusos de los conquistadores, by DiegoThe reintroduction of fresco painting into modern art and architecture helped establish Diego Maria de la Concepcion Juan Nepomuceno Estasnislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acost y Rodriguez, better known as Diego Rivera (1886-1957), as the most important Mexican artist of the 20th century. After studies at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City from 1898 to 1907, he moved to Europe, where after a short stay in Madrid, moved to Paris to join the growing list of artists in the School of Paris. After experimenting with the newly formed Cubism movement, he rather embraced the Post-Impressionism movement of simple forms and patches of color reflected by Paul Cezanne’s work. His travels to Italy in 1920 allowed him to study Renaissance frescoes, which quickly became his preferred medium and propelled him to become the leader of Mexico’s Muralist Movement between 1922 and 1930. In September of 1930, he accepted a lcommission to paint a mural for the City Club of San Francisco and a fresco for the California School of Fine Art (later relocated to San Francisco Art Institute). In 1931, he accepted an assignment to illustrate a book called Mexico: a study of two America’s, by Stuart Chase. This lithograph from an illustration in that book, titled “Los abusos de los conquistadores”, was a recurring theme in his murals. Being a lifelong atheist and a Communist, he frequently portrayed the exploiters and the exploited along with Catholic priests in the same murals. According to Sotheby’s Latin American Art Department, this high quality lithograph on the same rice paper Diego used, was printed by Galeria Misrachi during Rivera’s life and marketed among “the Frida Kahlo Collection”. The original is located in the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City. 19 x 12.5 inches