FRIDA KAHLO MUSEUM

FRIDA KAHLO MUSEUM

This museum is an absolute “must see”. The Frida Kahlo Museum, also known as La Casa Azul (the blue house) is dedicated to the life, and work of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The house was her birthplace, where she grew up and where she lived for many years with her husband, Diego Rivera.  She spent a significant amount of time in the house convalescing, first in 1918 when she was struck with polio which left one leg shorter than the other. When she was 18, a trolley accident left her badly mangled and she spent two years confined to her bed in casts and orthopedic devices. It was then that she began to paint as a means to pass away time.

 

She died in one of the bedrooms upstairs. Her ashes are on display in an urn, surrounded by a funeral mask and some personal items. Under the canopy of her bed is a mirror facing down. She used this mirror to paint her self-portraits. On her bed is a painted plaster corset, one of many, that she had to wear to support her damaged spine.  A pillow is embroidered with the words, “Do not forget me, my love.”

Beside her bedroom is a studio area. Her wheelchair is drawn up to an unfinished portrait of Stalin, on an easel which is said was given to her by Nelson Rockefeller.

One bit of advice before you see her house would be to watch the movie about Frida. It is fascinating and will give you a better understanding of what you see in the house.

After I had toured the house, I sat in the central garden. I could have stayed there all day. It felt like I could feel her presence all around me. Strange but true.