The painting titled “My Godfather’s Sons (Portrait of Modesto and Jesus Sanchez)” is a work by celebrated artist Diego Rivera, dating back to 1930. This oil on metal painting exemplifies the Naïve Art or Primitivism movement and portrays a portrait genre. With dimensions of 43.5 x 34 cm, the artwork is housed in Fomento Cultural Banamex, located in Mexico City, Mexico.
The artwork depicts two young boys, presumably brothers, standing side by side against a warm, reddish-brown background. The boy on the left holds a straw hat in his hand and has a serious expression. He wears a traditional light blue shirt with pink vertical stripes, white pants, and is barefoot, revealing a strong connection to rural or traditional life. The boy on the right, slightly shorter, wears a similar style of clothing with a yellow wide-brimmed hat, conveying a touch of innocence and youth. Both figures are painted with a straightforward and honest approach, typical of Naïve Art, which often has a flat perspective and emphasizes simplicity and directness in composition and color without elaborated details found in more realistic or academically-influenced art.
