Rivera Biography: Visiting Paris and London

He longed for a revolution in his art and felt he could only discover this in Paris so in the spring of 1909 he headed north. He moved into the Bohemian enclave known as Montparnasse which was filled in those days with rebel artists. Diego spent endless hours in the street cafes, sketching and arguing about "True Art" with his fellow comrades, who had come from the four corners of the globe to change the world of art.

During this year he spent much of his time studying at the Louvre Art Museum and entered his art in the academic French Salons but they took little notice of his current work. He met and fell in love with a young Russian artist, Angeline Beloff. There was serious talk of marriage, certainly more so from the involved woman's perspective than from his own. But revolution was brewing back in Mexico and he felt he had to return there to ensure the continuance of his scholarship monies. One can almost hear Diego's windy sigh-of-relief as he made his escape across that wide ocean.

House on the Bridge 1909

portrait of Angeline Beloff 1909

Next: Mexican Revolution