Last updated on January 11, 2024
Ever since reading The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, I’ve been fascinated by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Their love story captivated me and I was enthralled by their passion, art and political involvement. It’s the first piece of historical fiction I’ve ever read that made me desperate to know more of the lives depicted.
When earlier this year, on the way home from San Pancho, we had a one-day stopover in Mexico City, I knew exactly what I wanted to do – visit Frida’s La Casa Azul and the Palacio de Bellas Artes, home to Diego Rivera’s famous El Hombre En El Cruce de Caminos (Man at the Crossroads) mural. Here are some photos from our visit.
Before reading The Lacuna, all I knew of Frida was her famous monobrow and fierce self-portraits.
The book brought those images to life, revealing the woman behind the glare.
At the Casa Azul where Frida lived, now known as The Frida Kahlo Museum, you can see some of Frida’s early work. Most of her most famous portraits are held at galleries around the world.
This sketch was one of my favourites,
…as well as a Dali-like painting,
…and dark puppet show.
At the house, you can see where Frida worked,
…the brushes she used,
… her brilliant selection of glitter,
…and the easel she painted at. Frida suffered from various ill health throughout her life including polio as a child, and a later traffic accident that left her with multiple problems including the inability to conceive.
She died in 1954, aged 47. The cause of death was unclear but she had been in ill health for much of the year before. Frida died at home and you can see her death mask in the museum.
When we visited the Blue House, an exhibition of Frida’s clothing had just opened.
It included parts of her medical wear, like this corset, which she painted with a hammer and sickle.
Frida’s right leg had to be amputated at the knee due to gangrene. This is one the stylish boots she had made to disguise it.
The exhibition is the first time since Frida’s death that her famous wardrobe has been on display. It includes much of her signature style, emblematic of her indigenous roots,
…and love for the surreal.
It also features clothes by major fashion houses, inspired by her style,
…including this corset dress by Jean Paul Gaultier.
The house itself is stunning, painted a deep shade of blue and dotted with lots of idiosyncrasies like this charismatic stone statue.
After our visit to La Casa Azul, we headed to the Palacio de Bellas Artes. I was keen to see a mural by Rivera that is mentioned in The Lacuna. It was originally commissioned for the Rockefeller Building in New York. He was given the theme: ‘Man at the Crossroads Looking with Hope and High Vision to the Choosing of a New and Better Future’ and Diego wanted to contrast Capitalism and Socialism.
Controversy struck when Diego chose to include an image of Lenin in the mural, which provoked outrage in the media and resulted in Rockefeller asking him to remove Lenin’s picture. Diego refused, work ceased and the mural was destroyed.
Diego had feared that this would be the result so had taken photos of the mural in progress. He repainted it in a slightly smaller scale at the Palacio Bellas Artes in his hometown of Mexico City.
The new version was renamed ‘Man, Controller of the Universe’ and included additions such as this image of Trotsky.
Trotsky features in The Lacuna when Diego and Frida hosted him at their homes for some time during his political asylum in Mexico. He and Frida are said to have had an affair in the Blue House before his assassination in 1940.
The new version even includes an image of Rockefeller himself in a nightclub with a woman and a dish of syphilis bacteria above their head.
A miserable-looking Darwin sits on the side of Capitalism,
….with animals at his feet.
Above it all stands an angry Jupiter on one side, and a headless Ceaser on the other, representing the replacement of superstition with science.
For me, the beauty of the mural is in the details, especially the biological images,
…like these cell forms.
The mural, Man at the Crossroads / Man, Centre of the Universe is immense and one that you could stare at all day, picking up on every little detail and nuance. We drank in as much as we could, and as I sat there, after a day filled with Diego and Frida, I realised something.
Ever since I was young, I’ve yearned for the characters in the novels I read to be real, to travel to the places they lived and take a peek at the lives they led. On that day in Mexico city, the dream came true.
More on Mexico City
We’ve written a guide to Condesa and Roma in Mexico City, (including the best Condesa boutique hotels) and here’s a huge list of all the best things to do in Mexico City.
Finally, for some more Mexican culture, here’s an article with lots of interesting Mexico facts.
Two of my most favorite artists in the world!!! I made a trip all the way to Mexico City just so I could explore “their world” more up close and person. LOVE these pics!
Thanks Andi. Pleased you got to experience it too!
This is gorgeous. I’m exactly the same, The Lacuna made me so interested in these two, and it made me fall in love with Frida Kahlo, I’m absolutely in awe of her. Yet another must-do to add to my travel list 🙂 I absolutely love your blog by the way, it’s beautiful and inspiring.
Thank you. That’s wonderful praise indeed. It seems lots of people have read The Lacuna and felt the same way. It would be hard not to.
This is just perfect. I am dying to go to Mexico City, mainly because of Frida Kahlo. I want to see Casa Azul so badly! I just visited Detroit recently and saw Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry Mural – just beautiful!
Thanks Claire. Diego’s murals really do blow my mind. They’re incredible!
I visited The High, an art museum where I live in Atlanta a few months ago for their Frida and Diego exhibit. It was by far one of the best exhibits I’ve seen anywhere. Definitely a fascinating couple!
Oooh, I’d have loved to see that. The only downside of the museum in Mexico is that there are very few of her famous paintings.
I loved their story after seeing the film – I read a biography too, but her life does get extremely dark & desperately sad at the end. I thought the film was brilliant because it puts all the paintings into contact – using the visual medium exquisitely. Seeing her house is on my top ten dreams list.
Next artist you should check out – Leonora Carrington. British cum Mexican surrealist. Fascinating art and life. And a brilliant novel – The Hearing Trumpet.
Oh yes, I love the film too. It’s wonderful. I hope you make it to Mexico City, Laura. It’s such a vibrant place. I definitely want to go back. And thanks for the artist tip. I’m going to have a look now…
Frida and Diego are two of my favourite artists, and I have always been fascinated by their love story. It must have been incredible to visit their home and see their artwork in person – I must go there one day!!! Your photos have got me itching to visit 🙂
Maybe you’ll go there en route to San Pancho!
I loved visiting Frida’s house too, and reading ‘The Lacuna’. She was an extraordinary woman and artist.
Yes, it was lucky Steve’s second time there!
“Ever since I was young, I’ve yearned for the characters in the novels I read to be real, to travel to the places they lived….”
I understand, I feel this way, too! Thank you for sharing all of the symbolism of Diego Rivera’s mural. It’s fascinating.
I’m pleased I’m not the only one! That mural really is fascinating. I barely scratched the surface of all its meanings.
Frida was truly one of a kind, truly.
Absolutely!
what is the name of the first portrait in your blog. the one where Frida is wearing a pink top
I’m afraid I don’t know, sorry! You might be able to find it by doing a Google image search?
The white headdress is not “surreal”, it is a traditional mexican headdress.
Fascinating post. Is the portrait of Frida where she is wearing a pink blouse & blue shawl painted by Diego Rivera? I can’t find that painting in any of the online collections of either Rivera’s or Kahlo’s works.