DIEGO RIVERA (mexican, 1886-1957) "GUARDANTE SILENTE DE LA VERDAD,...

DIEGO RIVERA
(mexican, 1886-1957)
"GUARDANTE SILENTE DE LA VERDAD, EN EL TRAMO DE LA 'REVELACIÓN DEL CAMINO'"
study for chapingo mural, chapel
Pencil signed bottom right, graphite on paper laid down to cardboard.
Executed circa 1925.
22 7/8 x 23 3/4 in. (58.1 x 60.3cm)
provenance:
Private Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
By family descent.
Private Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
literature:
Luis-Martín Lozano and Juan Rafael Coronel Rivera, Diego Rivera, The Complete Murals, Taschen, 2008, pp. 182 and 189 (final mural version illustrated).

note:
We wish to thank Professor Luis-Martín Lozano for his assistance cataloguing this work.

The present drawing is a working study for one of the famous true fresco murals at Escuela Nacional de Agricultura in Chapingo, Mexico (today known as the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Chapingo). Between 1923 and 1928, Rivera began the ambitious project that covered over 700 square meters of the walls and ceilings of the school's entrance hall, staircase, administration offices and Assembly Hall in the Ex Chapel. Rivera's two main subjects were "Song to the Earth and Those Who Work the Land" and "And to Those who Struggle to Make it a Place Conducive to Life and Freedom of the Human Genre". These murals reflected the school's creed, "To teach the exploitation of the Land, not the exploitation of Men.

The final version of the present work, "Silent Guardian of the Truth," is one of several male figures shown in the ceiling vault surrounding the central scene, "Revelation of the Road to Follow." The figures are depicted in architectural 'squinch' areas that support and surround the domed ceiling above the recumbent image of Mother Nature in "The Liberated Earth with The Powers of Nature Controlled by Man." He is one of the two main Guardians, who with a vigilant attitude and machete in hand, will defend the goals of the Mexican Revolution that will bring social change to the country and its people.

Working drawings for murals for the Chapingo series come rarely to auction, and Freeman's is delighted to present this work on behalf of a private family collection where it was enjoyed for over 40 years.