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Frida Kahlo’s Museum has organised an online virtual tour, using the Reccoridos Virtuales platform, so that whoever’s interested can visit one of the contemporary art world’s most iconic houses.
Frida Kahlo always returned to Coyoacan, where she was born on July 6 1907. A place full of childhood memories, of memories of her parents as well as that rebellious feeling which, from the start, was a part of her and which became symbol of her identity.
Casa Azul (the Blue House) is a 800 square meter house, with a garden of 1,200 meters surrounding it. The name comes from the colour of the house itself, painted in cobalt blue. The house recounts the story of the artist, her work as well as more intimate details of her life. She was a sickly child, and at the age of 6 she contracted a rare form of pneumonia. Her life was characterised by suffering, aggravated in 1925 by the bus accident which resulted in various surgeries and her having to wear rigid and uncomfortable busts to support her spine. In between surgeries, her place of rest, to recuperate, was always Casa Azul.
Painted blue within and without, it seems to harbour a little bit of sky. It is the typical tranquil village house where good food and deep sleep give one the energy needed to live without serious alarms and to die in peace. | Carlos Pellicer, 1955
Even after she married Diego Rivera, in 1929, Frida always returned to her home. Even though both artists travelled a lot, Casa Azul was the only place Kahlo truly felt safe, and free to work on her art. After their divorce, in 1940 the two artists reconnected and moved to Coyoacan where Frida eventually passed away in 1954.
Casa Azul was turned into a museum in 1958 and today is one of the most visited museums of Mexico City. The interior has remained as was: in the room used by the artist, after the accident, there is still the bed and the mirror on the ceiling – the one she used to create her self portraits; in her studio brushes, colours and tripods remain unmoved and unchanged, suspended in time. The vibrant colours in the kitchen, the objects, the artisanal utensils are all an expression of Frida’s strong rapport with the traditions of her country. Within the walls one can also still find her old medicinals, corsets, jewellery and colourful clothes she so loved to wear.
In this moment of global lockdown you might be thinking it nearly impossible to visit Casa Azul.
Think again: though you might not be able to go there physically, the Frida Kahlo Museum is offering online virtual tours of each room. Starting from the house’s layout, you will be able to move around both indoors and outdoors, to admire all the house has to offer – from the old furniture to the artist’s paintings.
How, you may ask? Simply by clicking on the image below, and following the link to the museum’s official website.
Find out more: visit the “multimedia” section of the website dedicated to Frida Kahlo. The museum is also viewable on Google Arts & Culture.
Translated by Ludovica Sarti
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