Diego Rivera

La ofrenda (The Offering)

Amid a backdrop of verdant botanical life, three figures gather at an altar to honor the dead. Rivera’s scene depicts el Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), a Mexican celebration in which the deceased are invited to commune with the living through an altar set with welcoming offerings.

The composition of La ofrenda creates an implied ring that connects the figures to the altar, suggesting the circle of life that unites the living with the dead. After the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), Rivera was invested in Mexico’s cultural revitalization.

The artist’s passionate respect for the splendor and resilience of Indigenous Mexican culture is evident here. A garland of marigolds, omnipresent in Día de los Muertos celebrations, and symbolic of life’s exquisite fragility, is draped across a nopal cactus, which represents survival and appears on Mexico’s coat of arms.

La ofrenda reflects the beauty and cultural endurance of post-revolution Mexico, demonstrating Rivera’s belief that “the artist is a direct product of life ... and a reflector of the aspirations, the desires, and the hopes of his age.”