the provenance of th i s h i s tor i c s ketchbook
, exhibited in its
entirety for the first time in
92
years, is extraordinary. It was given by Rivera
to his first [common law] wife, Angelina Beloff, with whom he lived in Paris
from
1909
to
1921
, when he returned to Mexico. In
1916
Angelina bore
him his first child, a son they nicknamed “Dieguito” (little Diego). During
her pregnancy and after the baby was born, Rivera painted a series of
cubist portraits of Angelina. These tender “Maternities” record a period of
domesticity that was tragically ended for the couple when the child perished
at the age of a year and four months, from bronchitis and pneumonia.
Angelina, who never remarried, moved to Mexico in
1932
where she
painted, taught art, and had a number of exhibitions. She died in
1969
.
During her years in Paris, the Russian-born artist moved easily among
the expatriate artists who lived and worked in the early decades of the
20
th
century. Among the artists in her circle and whose career would lead him
to Mexico, was the talented artist, Jean Charlot. Born in Paris in
1898
, his
father was Russian-French and his mother was of Mexican descent. Charlot
moved to Mexico City in
1921
, and became part of the Mexican mural
renaissance. He was assistant to his famous colleague, Diego Rivera, and
worked side by side with Orozco, Siqueiros, Fernando Leal and many others.
11
