Explore the Other Representations of Zapata by Rivera of this artwork.
Previous to the mural at the Palace of Cortés, Cuernavaca and its subsequent depiction in the Zapata MoMA mural and lithograph, Rivera's 1930–1931 painting Zapata depicted the figure based on a photograph showing him in Cuernavaca in 1911, in which he brandishes a modern rifle and wears the ornate costume of the charro, or horsemen.
However, for the Zapata Palace of Cortés mural, the MoMA mural, and the lithograph, Rivera chose to eliminate the symbolic references to power and status and instead opted to depict Zapata as a campesino. The simple dress separated him from the ruling elite and characterized him as a folk hero. This further idealized Zapata following his assassination in 1919.It was clear to Rivera that there were three ways of seeing Zapata; one as the idealized charro revolutionary, one as the leader of the campesino movement, and finally, as martyr. Both Rivera's lithograph and paintings of Zapata denote that Rivera was careful to choose the way in which he represented Zapata.
Another Mexican artist, José Clemente Orozco "scorned this type of imagery as romanticizing poverty and backwardness; nevertheless, in their very idealization, these images reassured viewers in Mexico and abroad that the peasants behind the Revolution were actually contained and content."
Cuernavaca charro Palace of Cortés, Cuernavaca lithograph campesino José Clemente Orozco