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Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera

from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection 25 Jun – 23 Oct 2016

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Mexicanidad

Mexicanidad

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Image: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Art © 2016 Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico DF
Frida Kahlo, 'Masks (Carma I)', 1946

From his first research trip in 1921 to the Yucatán Tehuantepec Peninsula, to the time he started to design his remarkable Anahuacalli Museum in the early 40s, Diego had collected over 50,000 important artefacts.

It was a passion supported by Frida, who gave Diego some land she owned near their home to build on. She even sold her own apartment and lobbied the government for further funds.

The resulting Anahuacalli Museum took the form of a black granite pyramid recalled a teocalli, or god-house, from Teotihuacan culture.

Diego set up a trust to manage the museum, today a significant – and imposing – cultural site that celebrates the creativity of the people of Mexico.

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Mexicanidad

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Image: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Art © 2016 Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico DF
Frida Kahlo, 'The love embrace of the universe, the Earth (Mexico), Diego, me and Señor Xólotl', 1949

Ultimately both Frida and Diego shared a dream of a liberated socialist Mexico.

They brought together indigenous iconography, popular folk art and revolutionary political themes in two very different artistic legacies: his, in epic murals found from Mexico City to San Francisco and beyond; hers in private self-portraits that have become some of the most loved artworks of our time.

Frida and Diego leave us not only their art, but the emblems of contemporary Mexico: their mexicanidad, their pride in being Mexican.

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