On September 17, 1925, a streetcar hit the bus in which Frida Kahlo was traveling. According to the Museo Frida Kahlo, she was immobile for months and began to paint. Her mother asked a carpenter to make an easel that could be used in bed. Her mother also had a mirror placed on the top frame of the bed.
The museum keeps the bed in the room that Kahlo used during the day, “con el espejo en el dintel” (with the mirror in its top frame). During the convalescence, which kept her immobile for nine months, she was able to start painting portraits.