Zapata

Zapata (1932) is a lithograph by Diego Rivera that powerfully portrays the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata as a heroic portrait standing among campesinos (peasants), holding the reins of a horse. Created twelve years after Zapata's assassination, this work is based on the Naïve art (primitivism)-inspired style of Rivera’s earlier "Agrarian Leader Zapata" (1931), one of eight "portable" frescoes made for his MoMA exhibition. The lithograph reflects Rivera’s interest in revolutionary themes and combines a straightforward, almost primitive aesthetic with a sense of collective strength, echoing his broader artistic exploration of Mexican identity and history.