Position:Home>Visual Arts> "'I paint what I see,' said Diego" What does this mean?

This will explain exactly what he meant when he made this commit to a reporter:

Diego Rivera was an artist who was very passionate and outspoken about his political, social and religious views and beliefs!. By the time he made this statement a large percentage of his paintings were reflecting the political and social climate of his time and had become controversial!.

What he meant was that he was recording what was going on around him in the world, from exploiting poor farm workers to the rise of Hitler to power, etc!. What he told the reporter was that he painted what was going on in the world!.

What he meant when he mentioned his wife Frida's paintings where that her's were very personal landscapes that had to do with what was going on inside her head!.

(FYI: Diego often admitted that Frida was a far better artist than he considered himself!. His fame as an artist came about as much as because of some of the political controversy they created as because of his talents as an artist!. Frida was a far more accomplished painter who's skills were overshadowed by his fame and the controversy that followed them around!.)

EDIT: Six thumbs down for recounting exactly what Diego had told the reporter and for keeping my reply actually fact checked! Wow! I suppose facts aren't that important!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Artist's see things differently than non artist's!. An artist sees beauty where others may see nothing at all!. When an artist looks at your face, it is not to decide if there is beauty!. All faces are beautiful to an artist!. As they study your face they notice the position of your features and the shadows cast by your features, the color of your skin, the set of your ears, and the emotion in your eyes and mouth!. Wrinkled skin, no problem, it is looked at as wonderful detail!. And thus, the artist views the environment the same way!. You may walk by a rusty old car and look at it as refuse, but the artist see's beauty in the aging and imagines where the car has been and with whom!. A fallen tree, dead foliage, the creatures of the air, and land, are viewed with a new enthusiasm !. So when Diego say's he paints what he see's, he is viewing it through a different lens, an artist eye!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Many paintings can have abstract looks to them, such as cubist paintings!.

But some paintings have more of a realistic look to them, and Diego was just saying, it was only what he saw that he painted!. For example, if someone said "Oh Diego! Your painting is gorgeous!" He might have replied, "I paint what I see!." He could've meant that he wasn't the one to create such beauty, but he just in sense took a picture of it!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter who lived from 1886 to 1957!. A movie about his life was made in 1992, entitled 'I Paint What I See', and in the 2002 movie 'Frida' (about the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo), Rivera says "I paint what I see around me, but you paint with your heart"!. I would guess that Rivera meant that he considered himself a realist, but check out some of his art (http://images!.google!.com/images!?q=Diego%!.!.!. and you won't think so!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Its like things you imagine in your head, like if for some reason one day you cant stop thinking about some strange picture in your head, you'll just kinda paint it and see what comes out!.
As in "I paint what i see!."Www@QuestionHome@Com

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All artists visualize within their minds and then put the image of the mind down on canvas!. That is what he meant!.

Jeff (weseye) WesleyWww@QuestionHome@Com

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Naturalism, or realismWww@QuestionHome@Com

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Well, we can conclude that his eyesight is pretty screwed up!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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it means tht he paints wat he sees
its not tht hard 2 figure out!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

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