Juicy art bits presents:
Frida Kahlo
by Sara Simon
Who was Frida Kahlo?
In life, Frida was a painter, known as the wife of Diego Rivera, a famous Mexican mural painter. She was also from Mexico, very patriotic and fiercely proud of her origins. Frida supported the Mexican revolution to the extent that later in life she changed her date of birth to the date of the beginning of the conflict - 1910. She was an emancipated woman, although her physical health forced her to stay in bed for a great part of her life. Nowadays, her popularity has overtaken Rivera’s fame, and she is considered a talented artist, an emblem for Mexican indigenous tradition, but also a role model for feminism for the representation of her life experience as a woman.
Frida was born in Mexico, in 1907, into big family. She had three sisters and two step sisters and they all lived in the Blue House in Mexico City. Her dad was originally from Germany and he was a photographer, while her mother was Mexican and devoted to the Roman Catholic Church. At the age of six, Frida survived polio, which affected her health, and her right leg remained permanently thinner and weak. However, the devastating accident that caused Frida a great deal of pain for the rest of her life happened when she was 19.
At that time Frida was studying medicine. She was on her way back home after a day in Mexico City. She got on a bus and managed to find a place to sit, even though the bus was overcrowded. The driver was driving at high speed on a tortuous road of the city, but when he tried to overtake the traffic in a jammed crossroad, the bus collided with a tram.
The accident was catastrophic. During the tremendous crash, Frida fell and was severely injured. The collision unfastened her clothes and she was naked, covered in blood. One of the passengers was a decorator. That day he was carrying gold leaf. This material flew all over the scene and some parts landed on her naked body that was then covered in blood and gold. People were screaming ‘the dancer! The dancer!’ as in the horrid scene she seemed to be like a delicate ballerina. A metal handrail pierced her in the abdomen. Frida was alive but presented with a broken spinal column, a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken pelvis, eleven fractures in her right leg, a crushed and dislocated right foot, and a dislocated shoulder. Also, the handrail in her abdomen permanently compromised her reproductive capacity.
In her painting, The Bus (1929), Frida represented the moment before the terrible accident. She depicted herself in western clothes, with a long orange scarf. After the accident, Frida left medical school and embraced painting. She dedicated much of her artwork to the study of herself, focussing on her feeling towards the relationship with her husband Diego, and reflecting on her physical condition.
Nowadays Frida is well-known for her portraits. In her portraits, Frida concealed any facial expressions, and her features do not allow the viewer to see any of her pain or suffering. She often appears fierce, looking forward. However, she allowed details to give a voice to her pain. In the Broken Column (1944), Frida portrays herself almost naked, just covered by a hospital bed sheet, symbolysing her vulnerability. Her torso is cracked in half, reminiscent of earthquake fissures. Her spine metaphorically becomes an ancient and ruined column that is held together by a surgical brace. Dozens of nails pierce her body and face, as a symbol of constant pain. Her eyes are challenging the viewer, but at the same time are tearful.
In life, Frida was a painter, known as the wife of Diego Rivera, a famous Mexican mural painter. She was also from Mexico, very patriotic and fiercely proud of her origins. Frida supported the Mexican revolution to the extent that later in life she changed her date of birth to the date of the beginning of the conflict - 1910. She was an emancipated woman, although her physical health forced her to stay in bed for a great part of her life. Nowadays, her popularity has overtaken Rivera’s fame, and she is considered a talented artist, an emblem for Mexican indigenous tradition, but also a role model for feminism for the representation of her life experience as a woman.
Frida was born in Mexico, in 1907, into big family. She had three sisters and two step sisters and they all lived in the Blue House in Mexico City. Her dad was originally from Germany and he was a photographer, while her mother was Mexican and devoted to the Roman Catholic Church. At the age of six, Frida survived polio, which affected her health, and her right leg remained permanently thinner and weak. However, the devastating accident that caused Frida a great deal of pain for the rest of her life happened when she was 19.
At that time Frida was studying medicine. She was on her way back home after a day in Mexico City. She got on a bus and managed to find a place to sit, even though the bus was overcrowded. The driver was driving at high speed on a tortuous road of the city, but when he tried to overtake the traffic in a jammed crossroad, the bus collided with a tram.
The accident was catastrophic. During the tremendous crash, Frida fell and was severely injured. The collision unfastened her clothes and she was naked, covered in blood. One of the passengers was a decorator. That day he was carrying gold leaf. This material flew all over the scene and some parts landed on her naked body that was then covered in blood and gold. People were screaming ‘the dancer! The dancer!’ as in the horrid scene she seemed to be like a delicate ballerina. A metal handrail pierced her in the abdomen. Frida was alive but presented with a broken spinal column, a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken pelvis, eleven fractures in her right leg, a crushed and dislocated right foot, and a dislocated shoulder. Also, the handrail in her abdomen permanently compromised her reproductive capacity.
In her painting, The Bus (1929), Frida represented the moment before the terrible accident. She depicted herself in western clothes, with a long orange scarf. After the accident, Frida left medical school and embraced painting. She dedicated much of her artwork to the study of herself, focussing on her feeling towards the relationship with her husband Diego, and reflecting on her physical condition.
Nowadays Frida is well-known for her portraits. In her portraits, Frida concealed any facial expressions, and her features do not allow the viewer to see any of her pain or suffering. She often appears fierce, looking forward. However, she allowed details to give a voice to her pain. In the Broken Column (1944), Frida portrays herself almost naked, just covered by a hospital bed sheet, symbolysing her vulnerability. Her torso is cracked in half, reminiscent of earthquake fissures. Her spine metaphorically becomes an ancient and ruined column that is held together by a surgical brace. Dozens of nails pierce her body and face, as a symbol of constant pain. Her eyes are challenging the viewer, but at the same time are tearful.
In The Wounded Deer (1946) as seen above, known also as The Little Deer, Frida uses the image of arrows to deliver a message of
sacrifice,
as well as bodily and emotional pain. Reflecting on her cultural
heritage
Frida at times relied on religious
iconography
of
martyrdom.
Mexico was a devoted country, and images of saints and traditional religious imagery clearly
inspired
Kahlo.
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We can notice, for example, the similarity in the painting made in 1480 by Mantegna of St. Sebastian, as seen above on the right.
Frida once said ‘I have suffered two serious accidents in my life, one in which a streetcar ran over me… The other accident is Diego’.
The marriage with Diego Rivera was tempestuous. They divorced once, but remarried a year later. It was difficult for the couple to be apart, as it seemed impossible for them to be faithful to one another. They lived in different houses and had separate studios, but despite their troubled relationship, they always loved each other.
Frida began the painting called The Two Fridas (1937), as seen below, after she discover her husband’s affair with Cristina, Frida’s younger sister. In the artwork she expresses her pain about the abandonment in the figure on the left and represents love and health in the right. It could be seen as a comparison between the Frida she wished to be and the person that she was.
Frida once said ‘I have suffered two serious accidents in my life, one in which a streetcar ran over me… The other accident is Diego’.
The marriage with Diego Rivera was tempestuous. They divorced once, but remarried a year later. It was difficult for the couple to be apart, as it seemed impossible for them to be faithful to one another. They lived in different houses and had separate studios, but despite their troubled relationship, they always loved each other.
Frida began the painting called The Two Fridas (1937), as seen below, after she discover her husband’s affair with Cristina, Frida’s younger sister. In the artwork she expresses her pain about the abandonment in the figure on the left and represents love and health in the right. It could be seen as a comparison between the Frida she wished to be and the person that she was.
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After her marriage with Diego, Frida began to wear traditional Mexican outfits, embracing her cultural heritage and supporting the Mexican Revolution. In the painting, the suffering Frida is wearing a western costume, in order to disappoint Rivera, who left her
heartbroken
and emotionally bleeding. From the tiny photograph held by the ‘healthy’ Frida, a
blood vessel
is running around her arm, reaching the heart. It connects to the suffering Frida and to her broken heart, which spills her love pains on the white dress.
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Frida had a difficult life, but
nevertheless
she lived fully, and used her art to deal with her physical and emotional pain. In her portraits, she gave us details to reach her thoughts and to understand the real Frida, while
publicly
she often wore the image of the strong woman.
In 1938, André Breton, principal initiator of the surrealist movement, described her work as surrealist, but Frida, who never liked to be labelled or trapped, responded: "I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality."
For more information about Frida Kahlo, please visit:
fridakahlo.com
fridakahlofans.com
and Lisa Waller Rogers blog on Frida Kahlo, her articles are very interesting lisawallerrogers.com
In 1938, André Breton, principal initiator of the surrealist movement, described her work as surrealist, but Frida, who never liked to be labelled or trapped, responded: "I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality."
For more information about Frida Kahlo, please visit:
fridakahlo.com
fridakahlofans.com
and Lisa Waller Rogers blog on Frida Kahlo, her articles are very interesting lisawallerrogers.com
