VAULT: Painting Diego Rivera’s Frescoes
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
“He probably used very close to the same technique as somebody like Michelangelo used in the Sistine Chapel.” —Ernst Halberstadt, artist
Considered by many, including the artist himself, to be his greatest work, “Detroit Industry” comprises 27 fresco panels in the atrium of the Detroit Institute of Arts. In this vintage piece provided by SFMoMA, we see Rivera’s assistant Ernst Halberstadt explain the process behind Rivera’s fresco paintings at the museum, and his experience among the apprentices working with him. Halberstadt goes into eye-opening detail describing Rivera’s workflow, his use of assistants for inspiration and labor, and the artist’s fascination with fresco painting as medium.