SAN JOSE, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - A daughter of Diego Rivera criticized the Mexican art legend's famous third wife, Frida Kahlo, as a subpar painter whose work became pricey thanks to pop star Madonna's interest in it.

In a Costa Rican newspaper interview, Guadalupe Rivera, a Mexican writer and art historian, criticized Kahlo's penchant for self-portraits.

'During her life, she painted some 50 paintings, and the theme was her own image,' Rivera told La Nacion newspaper in an article published Thursday. 'They were repetitive; copies of one another.'