Frida Kahlo's Notes from Casa Azul's Archives

"All the voices—silencios todos—azul— ojos—"

I arrived in Mexico City the day of their election. I hadn’t planned it that way—it was the trip I most wanted to take after ending the academic year. More than anything, I wanted to study Frida Kahlo (1907-1954); her husband, Diego Rivera (1886-1957); and visit their home.

Now that Mexico has elected its first female president, it also feels like the perfect time to write a follow-up post about Frida Kahlo’s notes (read the original post here)! She was, after all, one of the first female artists to support herself entirely with her own work.

Nearly every artist has sketches and notes, but they are not always easy to find. As much as I love Frida’s diary, my last post felt incomplete to me. I wanted to know more about her notes. After decades of research, I’ve learned that sometimes, the best way to learn about an artist’s habits is to visit their home. And Frida’s house—La Casa Azul—did not disappoint!

Me, last week, at Casa Azul

Luckily, the museum was celebrating their 65th anniversary, so they exhibited many of Frida’s notes from their archives. I learned so much more about her process, and I’m excited to share it all with you!

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Frida’s Files

If you’ve seen images of Frida’s house, it’s likely you’ve seen the following shot of her studio: her wheelchair parked at her easel and the final paints she mixed dried in perpetuity on her palette.

But the coolest thing I saw at Frida’s house is on the other side of this room, enclosed in her bookcase. Here, she kept files in boxes labelled with Lotería cards. For those unfamiliar with Lotería, it is a card game not unlike Bingo.

Frida’s files, Museo Frida Kahlo

I suspect the file labelled “Protest Rockefeller Vandalism” refers to Diego Rivera’s mural “Man at Crossroads,” commissioned and then painted over by John D. Rockefeller Jr. at what is now 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Frida labels another box “Various Interests and Curiosities” with the devil card. Official documents get the Mexican flag, and her personal files on friends and Diego receive the Lotería card for heart.

These files contain the paper remains of Frida’s and Diego’s illustrious careers— successes that Frida never would have imagined when she was a teenager, sketching faces in a small notebook.