Final answer:
Diego Rivera was celebrated for his mural paintings, which are essential to the Mexican Mural Movement. He combined European influences with native themes in over one hundred murals, most notably in the Secretariat of Public Education building and the National Palace in Mexico City. While murals are his signature works, he also painted smaller canvases that celebrate Mexican culture.
Step-by-step explanation:
Diego Rivera (1886-1957), one of the most renowned Mexican painters, was particularly famous for his mural paintings. Rivera's body of work is a cornerstone of the Mexican Mural Movement, reflecting a rich pictorial history of his country and a commitment to collective justice. Trained at the San Carlos Academy of Fine Art in Mexico City, Rivera's exposure to European artistic movements, especially during his time with modern artists in Paris and his studies of Proto-Renaissance art in Italy, significantly influenced his large-scale murals.
Among Rivera's murals, his work at the Secretariat of Public Education building in Mexico City is especially noteworthy, where, from 1922 to 1928, he created over one hundred murals that narrate the history and struggles of Mexico. Another ambitious project was his epic narrative at the National Palace in Mexico City, The History of Mexico - The World of Today and Tomorrow, where he depicted the conflicts between the Indigenous populations and the Spaniards. His murals included a variety of themes, such as revolutionary heroes, indigenous cultures, and critiques of technological progress and capitalism.
While murals represented a significant part of Rivera's oeuvre, he also produced smaller canvases, like The Flower Vendor (Girl with Lilies), exhibiting Cubist influences and a celebration of the Mexican worker and culture. Rivera's unique style and commitment to making art accessible to the public positioned him as an idealistic and utopian figure within Los Tres Grandes, a term used to describe the three great muralists of Mexico, alongside Orozco and Siqueiros.