User:Diego rosales~enwiki

Diego Rosales 1927-

Painter and muralist born on April 20, 1927 in San Pablo Tepetlapa, Coyoacan, Mexico D.F. In 1945, at the age of 18, he drew Diego Rivera’s attention by showing him a few of his own drawings. Rivera, pleased by what he saw, personally recommended in writing that Rosales attend the national school of paint and sculpture “La Esmeralda”. In 1947, while still studying, he was chosen among the best students to become a member of Diego Rivera’s team. By 1950, Diego Rosales collaborated in Rivera’s mural “ Disembarkment in Veracruz” located in the first floor of the national palace of Mexico. 1950 would also be the year that Rosales had his first individual public exhibit in the Galleria at the Hotel del Prado in Mexico City. Around the same time, he was named chief of the technical team at el Instituto Nacional de las Bellas Artes (Mexico’s most important art museum). In 1951, he continued to work with Diego Rivera on Rivera’s mural “Water; Origin of Life on Earth” located at Carcamo del Rio Lerma, Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico City. Rivera chose to incorporate the figure of Diego Rosales in the section of horticulture of this massive and elaborate mural, as a laborer carrying a shovel. In 1952, at the age of 25, Rosales would again be chosen to work with Rivera on his then controversial “Pesadilla de Guerra, Sueño de Paz” painting on canvas. Besides being credited with various restoration projects of murals by influential painters such as Jose Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera, Rosales created a few impressive murals of his own. In 1960, he completed a 110 square meter mural called “La Conquista y el Tormento a Cuauhtemoc” located in the Civil Registry building in downtown Coyoacan. Also in 1987, he finished a striking mural in the 19th century government’s House of Culture building, “Jesus Reyes Heroles,” also located in Coyoacan. In 1991 he finished and presented a mural in homage to the president of Mexico, General Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940) and the legendary Ingeniero Eduardo Chávez for their important collaboration in which they created the infrastructure that made Mexico the agriculturally rich country that it is today.

Throughout the last 60 years, Diego Rosales has not only produced countless paintings owned by art collectors all over the world, but has also pursued his other passion: amassing a priceless collection of over 15,000 pieces of pre-Hispanic artifacts. This collection has been recognized by presidents of Mexico and has been authenticated by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology. Rosales’ collection of pre-Hispanic artifacts is registered as the Diego Rosales Museum and is said to be second in historical significance to the collection housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City.

Diego Rosales has also authored a number of literary works that include Poesias y Cartas de Amor (1986) and La Piedra del Sol o Serpiente de Nube (1988), a study of the Aztec calendar.

Today at the age of 80, Diego Rosales continues to reside in his architecturally unique home, which doubles as his working studio. This residence is a cave-like structure constructed from rock on a mountainside in Cuyoacan, Mexico, and is situated blocks from Diego Rivera’s museum. His passion for his work is as intense as ever despite his age. Rosales is currently working on manuscripts related to how the indigenous cultures used geometry and mathematics to build their structures and guide their lives. He continues tirelessly to work on realizing his dream: that his archeological collection, the Diego Rosales Museum, be seen around the world so that pre-Hispanic cultures not be forgotten or underestimated for their importance in the history of civilization. Due to countless hours of labor in these pursuits, Rosales has recently limited the time he spends painting; thus the production of new artwork is scarce. Still, the man that never seems to tire, has new art projects in mind, including painting a mural in the United States that further educates through the arts, the importance of older civilizations’ influence on modern-day society.