Throughout his career, Diego Rivera portrayed the most famous actresses in film during the Golden Age, but he didn't always get the best response from his models because of the way he painted them.
Among some of the works that Diego Rivera did and most famous have become, are those he did for Silvia Pinal and María Félix. Both paintings aroused controversy at the time, as they would have been very erotic.
Although several actresses refused to pose completely naked before him, or even allow him to capture them in some work without clothes, Linda Christian was one of the few who accepted the artist painting her without a blouse or any garment that covered her chest.
Linda Christian, a Mexican actress who rose to stardom in Hollywood, was considered one of the most beautiful histrionists of the Golden Age, so she became one of Rivera's muses.
In 1949 the painter asked him to portray it, only from the waist up. She did not reveal whether she posed naked before him, but this is how she was portrayed, among hummingbirds, branches, orchids and tulips, all these elements would represent the eroticism of the histrionist. Despite the beauty of the play, it was very controversial among Linda's relatives.
The fact that the histrionist's chest was completely uncovered did not please anyone, except Christian's mother, who just wanted the image of her daughter not to be touched by scandals like a nude.
It was then that, at the request of Linda's mother, Blanca Rosa Vorhauer, Rivera had to put on top of the torso of the actress's representation a transparent blouse, through which the actress's chest is still visible.
This change did not please the family either, so the painting has been exhibited on very few occasions. It was until many years later that the Bond girl decided that it was time to make this work known to everyone.
The first time the public could see the painting was in 1962, when Linda published her autobiography, choosing her portrait as the cover of the book.
Later, the painting became the property of Baron Enrico Paulo Apuzzo di Portanova, who had one of the largest and most ostentatious mansions that existed at that time and was located in Acapulco, Guerrero.
After the death of the baron, the painting was finally exhibited, but only to some people, as it was auctioned by Christie's house for USD 578,500.
Silvia Pinal, for her part, revealed that the artist asked her to portray her completely naked, but she refused, because she didn't want to expose herself in that way. Therefore, Rivera agreed to paint it in a simple black dress, because he simply wanted to have the opportunity to capture his image.
On the other hand, María Felix's painting was not liked by the actress, because she stated that the part of her chest was very uncovered and that it almost completely showed this area, because originally the upper area of the dress she wears in the portrait was semi transparent and allowed to see part of her skin.
Maria rejected the painting and did not allow Diego Rivera to exhibit it in any public place, so it had to be sold. There began a whole journey for the painting, which is currently valued at between 6 and 7 million pesos.
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