“They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.”
-Frida Kahlo, 1953
The Frida Kahlo Museum, also known at the Casa Azul (Blue House), is one of the most popular museums in Mexico City. It brings in around 25 thousand monthly visitors, 45% of which are foreign. Frida Kahlo was a self-portrait artist and the most famous Latin American painter of the 20th century. She is a significant figure of Mexican art and is still a revered feminist icon today. The Blue House was her creative universe, where she was born and died. It was turned into a museum four years after her death, where you can see personal objects and mementos that reveal the world she lived in.
You can also view works of art by both Frida and Diego Rivera displayed in the rooms. The house today looks very similar to when the couple lived there. As you walk through the rooms, take in the frozen lifestyle of the wealthy Mexican bohemian artists of the early 20th century. Slowly make your way to the courtyard garden where you’ll find a pyramid displaying pre-Hispanic pieces at the end of the tour. The Blue House offers a very intimate look into the place Frida created and lived, helping us to understand the relationship between her home and her art.
Wildcatter Advice:
Buy your tickets in advance online and skip the always-long line.
You have to pay extra to take photos, but it is well worth it considering how beautiful the house is.
Receive free entry into Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli with your Blue House ticket (only a 15 minute car ride away).
“I tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good feeling.”
-Frida Kahlo