Frida Kahlo

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Kate has discovered that there's a Frida Kahlo gallery/museum in Playa del Carmen (see Museo Frida Kahlo Riviera Maya on Facebook). It's an opportunity for us to get out of the resort, see some art and some of the city. We have a taxi pick us up and drive us near the museum about 20 minutes away near the city center. 

Taxi rides run $200MX for most destinations in the city; that's about $16CA, but we usually just divide by 10 to figure out the exchange. 

There's a modest entry fee and we are given a conducted tour with a young woman who tells us the story of Frida Kahlo's life on display in series of exhibits. I knew a little bit, that she had lived her life in pain, but it turns out I knew very little. She had childhood polio which crippled her one side and as a young woman nearly died in a tram crash that crushed her spine. Throughout her life she had many surgeries and many cumbersome braces to "fix" these problems. But nothing ever worked, she lived a life of pain.

This is more a museum than a gallery. There are no original works of hers but several digital copies on display. I understand that she only painted 150-200 pieces in her life; that's not a lot for an artist of her renown. But like many artists her fame is largely posthumous. One of the recreations in the museum was a physical replica of her bed (cf. pictured above which broke records in a recent auction):

An arresting self-portrait by Frida Kahlo, featuring the artist slumbering beneath a tangle of vines in a carved canopy bed with a skeleton reclining above her, set records at a Sotheby's auction on Thursday night in New York. The 1940 painting, called El sueño (La cama), sold for $54.7 million, the most expensive artwork by a woman ever auctioned. It also broke the previous auction record for Kahlo's work. — See NPR article 2024/11/19.

The tour guide, noting Kate's mobility issues, finds a wheel chair for us and leads us through the museum. There aren't a lot of patrons today. We learn of her birth, her family, her childhood, travels to the US and Europe, and much more. For much of her life, because of the polio and tram injuries, she painted from her bed as in the picture above. That explains why many of her works are pictures of herself; she was painting from a mirror hanging over her. Her uni-brow is a well known feature of these paintings. She was adamantly proud of who she was and how she looked.

She had an interesting, eventful life, nonetheless. She married the same man twice, Diego Rivera (an likewise famous artist), had several lovers, she was bisexual, a communist (there's a connection to Trotsky), and an advocate for Mexican traditions in art (like the day of the dead folk art) and dress.

One of the exhibits was a day of the dead altar; we've seen these in Austin. On the altar are several offerings, Mezcal and Tequila, and several large skulls. We are told by the guide that one of Frida's favorite candies was the "Day of Dead" sugar skulls. There's a picture of her holding a life size candy skull. Our guide gave us a couple of small candy skulls as souvenirs of the museum.

Frida Kahlo died in 1954 at 47years of age after a lifetime of pain. Apparently her last recorded words were written in her diary shortly before her death: "I joyfully await the exit — and I hope never to return". I also have read of an other equality poignant ending, 

Shortly before her death, Frida said: "When I die, burn my body. I don't want to be buried. I spent a lot of time lying down. Just burn it!" On July 13, 1954, the rain said goodbye to Frida Kahlo, who for her funeral had been dressed in a typical Mexican and with her right hand resting on her chest. Her body was cremated and her ashes are kept in the Casa Azul in Coyoacán, the place where she was born. Her last painting is exhibited at the Frida Kahlo Museum. It is an oil painting that shows several pieces of watermelon in very bright tones. In one of them, and next to her signature, it reads: "Viva la vida. Coyoacán, 1954, México".    — See Handmade by Paola Pizzaferri on Facebook.

With the fuss about the auction, only a few days ahead, Noelle, our gifted artist niece, posted on Facebook one of her digital works commemorating Frida. I really like that work and have left a copy in the photo gallery above.

P.s. this Museum/Gallery in Play del Carmen should not be confused with the Museo Frida Kahlo in Coyoacán, where Frida was born, lived and died, which is a much larger proper gallery with original artworks.  Nevertheless, I'd recommend visiting this museum when in Playa del Carmen.