Microbiology, Public Health, and the Murals of Diego Rivera

Authors

Felipe C. Cabello, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, USA.
Henry P. Godfrey, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, New York Medical College (retired), Larchmont, New York, USA.

Author Type(s)

Faculty

DOI

10.1093/cid/ciad715

Journal Title

Clinical Infectious Diseases

First Page

1662

Last Page

1668

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-14-2024

Department

Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology

Abstract

Diego Rivera, an acclaimed Mexican painter active during the first half of the 20th century, painted multiple frescoes in Mexico and the United States. Some include depictions of bacteria, their interactions with human hosts, and processes related to microbiology and public health, including the microbial origin of life, diagnosis of infection, vaccine production, and immunization. Microbiological subjects in Rivera's murals at the Mexican Ministry of Health in Mexico City; the Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit; Rockefeller Center, New York/Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City; Chapultepec Park, Mexico City; and the Institute of Social Security, Mexico City, span almost 25 years, from 1929 to 1953. Illustrating the successes of the application of microbiological discoveries and methods to public health and the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, they benefited from Rivera's creativity in melding microbiology's unique technological and scientific aspects and public health elements with industrial and political components.

Recommended Citation

Cabello, F. C., & Godfrey, H. P. (2024). Microbiology, Public Health, and the Murals of Diego Rivera. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 78 (6), 1662-1668. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciad715