Acknowledgements I dedicate my thesis research to all who influenced both its early and later developments.

Travel opportunities for further research were made possible by The Graduate Division at UC Riverside, The University of California Humanities Research Institute, and the Rupert Costo Fellowship for Native American Scholarship. I express my humble gratitude to my thesis committee, Art History Professors Jason Weems (Chair), Liz Kotz, and Professor of Anthropology Karl Taube. The knowledge, insight, and guidance you all have given me throughout my research has been memorable. A special thanks (un agradecimiento inmenso) to; Tony Gomez III, Mama, Papa, Ramz, The UCR Department of Art History, Professor of Native North American History Cliff Trafzer, El Instituto Seguro Social de Mexico (IMSS) - Sala de Prensa Directora Patricia Serrano Cabadas, Coordinadora Gloria Bermudez Espinosa, Coordinador de Educacin Dr. Pedro Garcia Zuniga, and Dra. Maria Griselda Galindo Rodriguez; Siglo XXI: IMSS Centro de Informacin- Lic. Patricia Olgun Alvarado, Lic. Patricia Guadalupe Alfaro Guerra and Lic. Rosalba Tena Villeda; Centro de Documentacin Museo de Arte Moderno- Directora Marta Nualart and Sra. Graciela Monroy; Museo Mural Diego Rivera- Investigadora Ericka Contreras; Museo Nacional de Arte- Directora Maria Estela Duarte; Biblioteca Museo Nacional de Antropologa- Dra. Carmen Aguilera. Lastly, to an individual I only met once, Sr. Arturo Aguilar Gonzalez- thank you for the inspirational enthusiasm toward Diego Rivera's artistic history and its relation to Mexican culture.

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ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

Re-Conceptualizing Social Medicine in Diego Rivera's History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health Mural, Mexico City, 1953. by

Gabriela Rodriguez-Gomez

Master of Arts, Graduate Program in Art History University of California, Riverside, June 2012 Dr. Jason Weems, Chairperson

Diego Rivera's History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health mural has been interpreted as a representation of the Social Security Institution in Mexico, ancient and modern medicine, or mythological indigenous iconography relative to fecundity. Interestingly, the mural's descriptive title overshadows Rivera's gritty commentary embedded within the depiction of ancient and modern societies of Mexico, specifically Mexico City. The overall narrative chronologically demonstrates a generational shift from the indigenous Nahuatl or Nahua medicine and myth, mainly reproductions of early colonial imagery, to the modern nineteen fifties urban landscape and hospital setting. Highly regarded as a creative interpreter of Mexican tradition and culture, Diego Rivera was not necessarily focused on representing accurate depictions of the ancient societies of Central Mexico. Scholars must reconsider how to approach

Rivera's art representing indigenous communities, in this case Nahua mythology and the social need for social security, and analyze their relationship relative to the push for modernity throughout the industrial era. Rivera's artistic vision, coupled with his polemic character, produced a final mural that strongly conveys a multilayered dialogue between the artist, the viewer, and the past. The mural History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health actively engages with the viewer through the ongoing regeneration of thoughts, movements, and actions that channel the fluctuations of modernity itself by questioning the institutionalized system and the organic indigenous perspective. Interaction with the mural is necessary to open one's comprehension of not only Rivera's own personal struggle and realizations, but a nations' choice to move forward towards modernization. Ultimately, Rivera's visual articulation of ancient and modern medicine allows the viewer to interact with, exchange ideas and potentially manifest the dynamic yet fragmented essence of an ambiguous modernity.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................ iv Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................v List of Illustrations..................................................................................................................... viii Introduction ....................................................................................................................................1 Chapter I: The Multifaceted Mural ...........................................................................................27 The Depiction of Ancient Naturopathic and Modern Allopathic Medicine ...................................27 Diego Rivera, Inventor of Traditions .............................................................................................40 The Birthing of Medical Knowledge ..............................................................................................44 Chapter II: The Clinical Institution ...........................................................................................54 Public Reception ............................................................................................................................54 Exchanging Blood Sacrifice for Modernity, Industrialization, and the Clinical Gaze ..................59 The Family Unit and The Collective ..............................................................................................71 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................83 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................88 Illustrations...................................................................................................................................97 Appendix I ..................................................................................................................................139

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List of Illustrations Figure 1. Gabriela Rodriguez-Gomez. Modified diagram of the mural History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health. Black ink on paper. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Original diagram template from Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA). Diego Rivera: Catalogo General de Obra Mural y Fotografia Personal. Editor Rafael Cruz Arvea. pp. 247-49. Mexico D.F.: SEP, Instituto Nacional Bellas Artes, 1988. See page 1. Figure 2. Enrique Yez de la Fuente and Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza: layout of main lobby (first floor). 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. See page 2. Figure 3. Top photograph: Anonymous. Diego Rivera and mosaic artist Graciela Ramirez. Silver gelatin print. 1953. Bottom photograph: Anonymous. Diego Rivera and only four of his artist assistants- not in identifiable order- Osvaldo Barra, Marco Antonio Borregui, Melquades Ejido, Manuel Martnez, Teresa Ordiales, Nicolette Huguette, Ramon Sanchez, Enrique Valderrama. Silver gelatin print. 1953. Instituto de Bellas Artes (INBA) Collection, Mexico City, Mexico. See page 3. Figure 4. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health. Fresco, mosaic and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See page 3. Figure 5. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of left and right side walls. Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. See pages 3, 34-35. Figure 6. Diego Rivera. Creation. Fresco, encaustic and gold leaf. 1922-23. Amphitheater Bolvar. National Preparatory School of Mexico City. See page 8. Figure 7. Diego Rivera. Zapatista Landscape. Oil on canvas. 1915. The National Museum of Mexico, Mexico City. See page 10. Figure 8. Diego Rivera. Mathematician. Oil on canvas. 1918. The Dolores Olmedo Collection, Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City. See page 10. Figure 9. Diego Rivera. Study of an Etruscan Vase. Pencil and paper. 1921. Purchased by the Philidelphia Museum of Art, Lola Downin Peck Fund from the estate of Carl Zigrosser. See page 11. Figure 10. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of right section (top-center) and bottom corner. Fresco, mosaic and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See pages 14, 17.
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Figure 11. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of right and left sections (top center). Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See pages 18, 41. Figure 12. Gabriela Rodriguez-Gomez. Panorama of mural: Hospital de La Raza main lobby. Digital Photograph. 2011. See page 28. Figure 13. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of central wall Nahua goddess Tlazolteotl-Ixcuina. Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See page 28. Figure 14. Hans Memling. Last Judgment. Triptych, oil on wood. 1466-73. National Museum of Art, Gdask, Poland. See page 29. Figure 15. The Codex Borbonicus. Mexica (Aztec), central Mexican. Page thirteen and detail. Bark paper, amatl, and ink. Date unknown, most likely an early colonial document. Bibliothque de l'Assemble Nationale, Paris, France. See page 30. Figure 16. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of central wall herbal medicine from the Badianus Manuscript, 1552. Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See page 31. Figure 17. Gabriela Rodriguez-Gomez. Detail, Temple of the Plumed Serpent: Quetzalcoatl. Stone masonry. 150-200 C.E. Digital Photograph. 2011. Teotihuacan, Mexico. See page 32. Figure 18. Wagner Murals at Teotihuacan. Fragment titled Feathered Serpent and Flowering Trees. Volcanic ash, lime, mineral pigment, and mud backing. 600-700 C.E. Wagner Collection, San Francisco: De Young Museum. See page 33. Figure 19. Codex Vaticanus Latinus 3738 or Vaticanus A or Codex Ros. "Chichiualcuauhco," el lugar del rbol Nodriza, page 4. Early colonial document. Vatican Library, Italy. See page 34. Figure 20. Tlatilco Mask of Life and Death. Clay. 3 1/2 inches. Middle or Early preClassic period, 1000-600 B.C.E. Instituto Nacional de Antropologa, Mexico City. See page 34. Figure 21. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of the top of central wall. Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See page 35.

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Figure 22. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of right section of the central wall. Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See page 37. Figure 23. Antonio Tejeda. Detail of diagram of Bonampak murals, room three, structure one. 1955. Carnegie Institution of Washington. See page 37. Figure 24. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of top-center left section. Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See pages 38, 57. Figure 25. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of left section of the central wall. Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See page 38. Figure 26. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of left section cobalt pump scene. Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See page 43. Figure 27. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of left and right bottom sections of the central wall representing childbirth. Fresco, mosaic and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See pages 44, 48. Figure 28. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of top and bottom of the right section of an anonymous native woman pregnant then giving birth. Fresco, mosaic and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See pages 45, 70. Figure 29. Unknown Artist. Sculpture of Tlazolteotl-Ixcuina. Aplite. Nineteenth century. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection: Pre-Columbian Collection, Washington, D.C. See page 47. Figure 30. Diego Rivera. Mechanized Motherhood. Watercolor. 1933. The Dolores Olmedo Collection, Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City. See page 50. Figure 31. Leopoldo Mendez and Pablo O'Higgins. Motherhood. Approx. 13x36 feet. Mural, fresco/unknown. 1946. Destroyed. Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City. See page 50. Figure 32. Diego Rivera. Crcamo del Ro Lerma or Lerma Waterworks, Hands of Nature Offering Water detail. Fresco. 1951. Lerma Waterworks, Mexico City (Chapultepec Park), Mexico. See page 51.
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Figure 33. Diego Rivera. Detroit Industry, detail of "Vaccination and Healthy Embryo," right-side of the North wall. Fresco. 1933-34. Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan, United States. See page 62. Figure 34. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of left and right side walls and central wall masks. Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. See page 63. Figure 35. Diego Rivera. The Great City of Tenochtitlan, details of left section and uppermost center section. Fresco series. 1945. The National Palace, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See page 65. Figure 36. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of bottom of left section of blood transfusion. Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See page 66. Figure 37. The Codex Borbonicus. Mexica (Aztec), Central Mexican. Page thirty and detail of Tlaloc impersonator. Bark paper, amatl, and ink. Date is unknown, most likely sixteenth century. Bibliothque de l'Assemble Nationale, Paris: France. See page 68. Figure 38. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, detail of top- right section of central wall of Tlazolteotl-Ixcuina impersonator. Fresco, mosaic and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See pages 68, 72. Figure 39. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, details from the right section of native healers with designated paper headdresses. Fresco, mosaic and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See page 69. Figure 40. Diego Rivera. History of Medicine in Mexico: The People's Demand for Better Health, Uppermost-central detail of left section. Fresco, mosaic, and multimedia. 1953. Centro Mdico Nacional de La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See pages 73, 74, 76. Figure 41. Rufino Tamayo. Birth of Our Nationality. Vinylite on canvas. 1952. Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico. Photographed by author. See page 81. Figure 42. Diego Rivera. The Watermelons. Oil on canvas. 1957. The Dolores Olmedo Collection, Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City. See page 83.

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