Visiting the Museum of the House/Studio of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo

After we enjoyed art shopping at El Bazaar Sabado and lunch (with a bottle of cava) at the San Angel Inn, we ventured across the street to visit the shared home and studio of the famous Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

We’d heard that the Frida Kahlo museum was famed for its long lines, so we opted instead to visit this less busy site. It was also conveniently close to the Bazaar. There were many more items on our to-do list for this trip than we were able to accomplish, partly because the city is just so big and there is so much to do. We had to adapt our plans and just do our best to see sites clustered within areas we visited.

This blog post does a good job of summarizing the history and significance of the studio-house. Built in a neighbourhood dominated by Spanish colonial architecture, Diego commissioned a friend to built the house in a new, functionalist style, in contrast to its surroundings. This was following the Mexican Revolution, when there was a movement in the country to use art and design to foster national identity.

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo are two of the most important and famous artists of the 20th century, and it’s not possible to visit Mexico City without thinking about them. The influence of their artwork was felt worldwide, but it’s especially poignant in their hometown.

Even if you don’t know much about Kaho and Rivera, the museum is an interesting an inexpensive site to visit. Throughout the house/studio you can see different exhibits of their work and/of work that was influenced by them. It seemed as those these exhibits were rotated somewhat often.

Below you can see photos of what we saw while we were visiting, including Diego Rivera’s studio and a variety of work related to his travels and political engagements.

The house is painted brightly and is surrounded by these delightful cacti

inside the studio of Diego Rivera

on the rooftop between the two houses

walking down the stairs in Diego’s section of the house

these giant plants are everywhere!

chilling with Diego.