Photo: Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
In the southern outskirts of Mexico City, a treasure trove lies within a beautiful 16th century hacienda. The Dolores Olmedo Museum, which recently reopened after a six-year closure, features 3,000 works of pre-Hispanic art, Mexican folk art, and modern art. But most notably, it boasts the largest collection of paintings by Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
In total, 26 artworks by Kahlo can be found in two separate rooms; one for self-portraits and paintings of loved ones, and one for paintings that depict her struggles. The highlight of the latter is The Broken Column from 1944, in which her spine appears as a damaged architectural column. Also featured are A Few Little Pricks and Henry Ford Hospital, both from 1935, which showcase how her pain would come from both physical and emotional sources.
The museum is named after its founder, businesswoman and collector Dolores Olmedo Patiño, a longtime friend of Rivera who passed in 2002. “The master [Diego Rivera] taught me to see, to understand, to choose, to read, and to learn; he himself selected some of the pieces. I devoted many hours of my life to art, mainly to Diego,” Olmedo said about Rivera’s influence. The museum explains that their relationship was not merely one of patronage but of close collaboration, and that Olmedo was the driving force behind La Casa Azul and the Anahuacalli Museum, before using her expertise to open her own institution.
As such, the museum holds almost 140 works by Diego Rivera, including paintings, drawings, and a fresco, showcasing his versatility, both in technique and theme. The artworks chronicle his artistic endeavors from his childhood, represented by a portrait of his mom drawn when the artist was 10; his cubist endeavors in the 1910s; his fixation with commonplace Mexican scenes later in life; and a series of paintings of beach sunsets created shortly before his passing in 1957.
The Dolores Olmedo Museum is homed in the La Noria estate, known for its colonial architecture and lush gardens where peacocks and Xoloitzcuintle dogs roam free. The museum shut its doors during the COVID pandemic, but remained closed after the emergency was over, sparking concerns about a potential relocation of part of its collection. Intellectuals and neighbors pushed against this, insisting that any fragmentation of the collection would go against Olmedo’s wishes. The closure allowed the museum’s team to upgrade the glass enclosing of many artworks and repair the building.
Beyond the work of the art powerhouses that are Kahlo and Rivera, the museum also allows visitors to take in Mexican art and folklore throughout several centuries of art. During the Day of the Dead season, the museum is known for setting up ornate ofrendas that spotlight the work of Mexican artisans.
Among the recent upgrades the museum got is that visitors can now buy their tickets ahead of time on their website. To stay up to date with this art institution, follow Dolores Olmedo Museum on Instagram.
The Dolores Olmedo Museum in Mexico City boasts the largest collection of paintings by Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
The museum is named after its founder, businesswoman and collector Dolores Olmedo Patiño, a longtime friend of Rivera who passed in 2002.
The Dolores Olmedo Museum is homed in a 16th-century estate, known for its colonial architecture…
…and lush gardens where peacocks and Xoloitzcuintle dogs roam free.
Dolores Olmedo Museum: Website | Instagram
Sources: El Museo Dolores Olmedo reabre tras seis años: una mudanza frustrada y el legado de una figura clave del arte mexicano
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