William Haseltine

I was in Mexico in the spring with my daughter Mara. We both spoke at a Science and City planning meeting in Mexico City. We spent two days in the countryside. These photos are of some of Diego Rivera's work. The first is of the water works in Chapultepec Park. It is beautifully painted with a scene of evolution. It is a very small fragment of what is a truly a monumental work. The building has been closed until recently. The black and white is a vintage photo of Diego Rivera during the construction. The large figure is Thaloc, the God of Rain, a god that demands frequent human sacrifice.

William Haseltine

The remaining photos are all Rivera's from the museum in his home town, formerly the silver mining capital of Huanahauto. Note the similarity of his early work to many of the painters of the time, Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, Modigliani, Braque. The development of his own early distinctive style and the influence of Mayan and Aztec work is also evident.

William Haseltine