Man at the Crossroads
Encyclopedia
Man at the Crossroads was a mural
by Diego Rivera
.
The Rockefellers wanted to have a mural put on the ground-floor wall of Rockefeller Center
. Nelson Rockefeller
wanted Henri Matisse
or Pablo Picasso
to do it because he favored their modern style
, but neither was available. Diego Rivera was one of Nelson Rockefeller's mother's favorite artists and therefore was commissioned to create the huge mural. He was given a theme: "Man at the Crossroads Looking with Hope and High Vision to the Choosing of a New and Better Future." Rockefeller wanted the painting to make people pause and think.
The huge mural had many parts including: society women drinking alcohol, pictures of cells (sexually transmitted diseases), Leon Trotsky
and finally the famous Lenin portion (depicting communism
) which upset Rockefeller. The patron asked Rivera to change the face of Lenin to that of an unknown laborer's face as was originally intended but the painter left it as it was. The work was paid for on May 22, 1933, and immediately draped. People protested but it remained covered until the early weeks of 1934, when it was smashed by workers and hauled away in wheelbarrows. Rivera responded by saying that it was "cultural vandalism."
An assistant, Lucienne Bloch
, had taken photographs of the mural before it was destroyed. Using them as a reference, Rivera repainted the mural, though at a smaller scale, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes
in Mexico City
where it was renamed Man, Controller of the Universe
. At Rockefeller Center in its place is a mural with Abraham Lincoln
as its focal point.
The Rockefeller-Rivera dispute appears in the fiction films Cradle Will Rock
, Anbe Sivam
and Frida
.
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
by Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
.
The Rockefellers wanted to have a mural put on the ground-floor wall of Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
. Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
wanted Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
or Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
to do it because he favored their modern style
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
, but neither was available. Diego Rivera was one of Nelson Rockefeller's mother's favorite artists and therefore was commissioned to create the huge mural. He was given a theme: "Man at the Crossroads Looking with Hope and High Vision to the Choosing of a New and Better Future." Rockefeller wanted the painting to make people pause and think.
The huge mural had many parts including: society women drinking alcohol, pictures of cells (sexually transmitted diseases), Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
and finally the famous Lenin portion (depicting communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
) which upset Rockefeller. The patron asked Rivera to change the face of Lenin to that of an unknown laborer's face as was originally intended but the painter left it as it was. The work was paid for on May 22, 1933, and immediately draped. People protested but it remained covered until the early weeks of 1934, when it was smashed by workers and hauled away in wheelbarrows. Rivera responded by saying that it was "cultural vandalism."
An assistant, Lucienne Bloch
Lucienne Bloch
Lucienne Bloch was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and came to America with her family in 1917. She was the youngest child of internationally famous composer and photographer Ernest Bloch....
, had taken photographs of the mural before it was destroyed. Using them as a reference, Rivera repainted the mural, though at a smaller scale, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes
Palacio de Bellas Artes
The Palacio de Bellas Artes is the most important cultural center in Mexico City as well as the rest of the country of Mexico...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
where it was renamed Man, Controller of the Universe
Man, Controller of the Universe
Man, Controller of the Universe is a 1934 mural by Diego Rivera in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Its full title is Man, Controller of the Universe or Man in the Time Machine .The mural is a recreation of Man at the Crossroads, which was commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller for...
. At Rockefeller Center in its place is a mural with Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
as its focal point.
The Rockefeller-Rivera dispute appears in the fiction films Cradle Will Rock
Cradle Will Rock
Cradle Will Rock is a 1999 drama film which chronicles the process and events that surrounded the production of the original 1937 musical The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein...
, Anbe Sivam
Anbe Sivam
Anbe Sivam is a 2003 Tamil drama film directed by Sundar C and written by Kamal Hassan. The film stars Kamal Hassan and R. Madhavan. The music is composed by Vidyasagar....
and Frida
Frida
Frida is a 2002 biographical film which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. It stars Salma Hayek in her Academy Award nominated portrayal as Kahlo and Alfred Molina as her husband, Diego Rivera....
.
External links
- Photograph of the original mural.