On my hunt to see, if possible, all Frida Kahlo paintings in Mexico City, I do discover, by default, Diego Rivera, her husband.

Their lives were so intertwined, it is impossible to discover one without the other.

So far though, I had not had that much interest for Rivera’s work. I had seen a few murals he painted in San Francisco. Impressive works of art,  mostly with a common theme of worker’s rights, history and revolution, to sum it up quickly.

Little did I know that he actually painted in small scale, too.

I went down south to the Museo Dolores Olmeda. It is off the beaten path and seeing how far it was made me hesitate at first.

You have to take Metro 2 till the end and then change into a suburban tram that you have to ride nearly to its end stop as well. I was really close to the mountains that surround Mexico City.

 

I went there, of course, because the museum has a collection of some 20 of Frida Kahlo’s works, among them some of the most known, and also my favorite, the Broken Column.

But, as I discovered, the Museum also boasted a huge collection of Rivera’s works.

I discovered that he and Dolores Olmeda, who collected art throughout her life, was apparently a personal friend (and possible lover) of Diego Rivera. He also painted her several times.

 

So the museum complex, housed in a vast, beautiful garden in several old colonial buildings, is full of Diego Rivera: some 145 beautiful paintings, drafts for murals, busts, and pictures. And a great number of photos with Dolores Olmedo.

María de los Dolores Olmedo y Patiño Suarez, as was her full name, was born in 1908 into what appeared to have been a wealthy Mexican family.

A businesswoman, philanthropist and musician, her private residence, now part of the museum, is full of pictures of her traveling around the world, meeting the Pope, surrounded by art.

When she died in 2002, she left all her collections,  including pre-Hispanic, colonial, folk, modern and contemporary art, to the Museum of her name.

 

The garden is beautiful, and filled with animals such as geese, ducks and beautiful Indian Peafowls.

But the funniest are the six xoloitzcuintles [zoʊloʊ.iːtsˈkwiːntli or: zoh-loh-eets-kweent-lee], pre-Colombian, hairless Mexican dogs, that roam around a part of the garden. They are in danger of being extinct, but those six seem very much alive!

Long story short: the trip out there is definitely worth it, for anyone who wants to see more of Diego and Frida’s work, and enjoy discovering more Mexican art.