Myth Understood

Fertilization/Flowering of the plants panel, Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo murals (1925-27)

"On the other hand, Rivera could be hokey. But you must remember that hokieness is a perception afforded only those of us who aren’t addressing people who have to worry every day about putting a square meal on their tables and a roof over their heads. So, while the Fertilization / Flowering of the Plants panel in the 1925–1927 murals at the Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo might strike us as obvious, corny and replete with stereotypes (even the book describes the female nudes as “turgid”), it was—and is—a powerfully simple composition that convincingly makes its point about the irrepressibility of life itself. And whatever you think of the message, Rivera’s incomparable way with fresco colors is again magnificently on display."