Artribune Podcast Revisits Diego Rivera's Censored Rockefeller Center Mural

The latest episode of 'Storie dell'Arte', an artcrime podcast produced by Mosè Previti for Artribune, examines the 1933 censorship of Diego Rivera's mural at Rockefeller Center in New York. Rivera was commissioned to paint a large fresco in the iconic skyscraper, a symbol of American recovery after the Great Depression. However, the mural included a portrait of Lenin alongside workers, scientists, and philosophers, as well as a critical depiction of John D. Rockefeller Jr. The controversial work was covered and subsequently destroyed. Rivera still received a substantial payment and leveraged the scandal. The episode also explores Rivera's career from Mexico to New York, his marriages, successes, and controversies, using newly translated sources. It contrasts the revolutionary Mexican artist with the United States' search for its artistic identity. The podcast blends archival research, articles, court records, interviews, and testimonies, presented with rhythm and irony, accompanied by a synth-based original soundtrack reworking classical compositions.