Diego Rivera (Guanajuato, 1886 - Mexico City, 1957) was a renowned painter and a leading figure of Mexican muralism. He began his studies at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes (National School of Fine Arts) in 1892, where he trained under Antonio Fabrés and José María Velasco. A scholarship from the governor of Veracruz enabled him to travel to Spain, and in 1909 he continued to Paris, London, and Brussels, where he met Angelina Beloff, whom he later married. The following year, Rivera returned to Mexico and participated in an exhibition commemorating the centennial of Independence.

Later, he returned to Europe, where exposure to avant-garde movements helped him develop a unique cubist style. In 1916, he exhibited in New York alongside Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Picasso. Back in Mexico, Rivera turned to mural painting, beginning with The Creation in 1922 at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (National Preparatory School). In 1924, he co-founded the newspaper El Machete and became involved in leftist movements. In 1927, he traveled to Moscow and later co-organized the Sindicato Revolucionario de Obreros Técnicos (Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers) with David Alfaro Siqueiros, and married Frida Kahlo in 1929.

Throughout his career, he painted murals in Mexico and the United States, including his prominent work at the Rockefeller Center in New York. In 1955, he donated the Museo Anahuacalli (Anahuacalli Museum) to Mexico and continued his muralist work until his death in 1957.