The famous painter, Diego Rivera was an inspiration to Mexicans during life and death. Although born to an upper class family, he was able to feel what humanity felt, especially among the working class, and this is what made him a great artist. Here are some interesting facts about the prominent painter.

Fact 1: Diego Rivera was born on December 8, 1886 in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Fact 2: His talent appeared at an early age. When he was only ten, Diego Rivera went to Mexico to study at the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts.

Fact 3: He became friends with Pablo Picasso while studying in Europe.

Fact 4: Through a government funded program, he painted a series of murals in public buildings but when he painted a portrait of Vladmir Lehin at New York City’s RCA building, the Rockefellers destroyed it. It was called ‘Man at the Crossroads’.

Fact 5: He painted the native, working class people of Mexico.

Fact 6: He married the famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, who was twenty years his junior.

Fact 7: Like his famous wife, he had an interest in radical politics and Marxism.

Fact 8: He had several children from past relationships before marrying Frida.

Fact 9: His tumultuous marriage with Frida ended in divorce in 1939, only to have them remarry a year later.

Fact 10: Rivera and Frida played host to the Communist exile Leon Trotsky.

Fact 11: He lost his wife Frida in 1954 and remarried.

Fact 12: He is portrayed in two movies. The 1999 film Cradle Will Rock and the critically acclaimed 200 film Frida, starring Salma Hayek.

Fact 13: He died of heart failure on November 24, 1957 in Mexico City.

Fact 14: His childhood home in Mexico is a museum.