Casa Azul was built by her father in 1904, three years before she was born in it. She lived there as a child, returned to it after the accident that reshaped her life, brought a husband into it, lost him from it, took him back, and died in an upstairs bedroom in 1954.
The house was rebuilt around her body. Mirrors were mounted above the bed so she could paint while lying down. A courtyard was filled with pyramids, pre-Hispanic sculpture, dogs and parrots. The kitchen was painted yellow, the walls cobalt.
Very few homes carry an entire life from first breath to last. This one does, and it is still exactly the color she chose.
Memories attached to this place
“As kids we knew the blue corner from three streets away. It's the only building in Coyoacán you can navigate by.”
“My aunt sold flowers at the market and delivered to the blue house every Friday for years.”
“The parrots would answer if you whistled from the sidewalk. That's a true thing everyone here says.”
Timeline
- 1904Built on the corner of Londres and Allende in Coyoacán.
- 1907Born in the house.
- 1929Marriage; the house becomes a shared studio and salon.
- 1937Trotsky and Natalia Sedova take refuge in the guest rooms.
- 1954Dies in the upstairs bedroom.
A house painted the right color becomes a landmark before anyone decides it is one.
