Frida Kahlo
Summary
Frida Kahlo (July 6, 1907- July 13, 1954) was the first female Mexican artist and political
activist to become famous due to her use of surrealism, political symbolism and bright bold
colors in her artwork. Born and raised in Coyocoán, México City, Mexicao, Kahlo grew up with
her two parents and three sisters, in her home called the Blue House (Lowe 15). Despite having
been very sick as a child, she was encouraged to live an active life, which she did. She was
studying to go into the medical field until a tragic bus accident left her bedridden. This accident
led Kahlo to begin her artistic career eventually completing over 150 paintings during her
lifetime (Dexter 11). Kahlo’s artistic career began around 1926 as mostly portraits until she
married Diego Rivera, to which her style became more surreal and full of symbolism eventually
leading to her most famous art pieces. Her and Rivera lived a very complicated marriage often
separated from each other, which allowed Kahlo to explore and promote her artistic style along
with her political views. Kahlo continued painting and attending political demonstrations all
through the 1950’s during which she stayed in the hospital for extended periods of time due to
her deteriorating health. Kahlo eventually died in her home about a week after her 47th birthday
due to either an embolism or an overdose as some people suspect. (C)
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Childhood/Teenage years
Marriage
Late years/Death
Accomplishments/ Legacy
Quotes
6.
7.
8.
Books about Frida Kahlo
Also See
Works Cited Page
Childhood years
The “Blue House” which Frida’s father built in 1904 in Coyoacan, Mexico was where Frida
lived with her family. Although her birth was July 6, 1907, Frida states as being born in 1910
because she saw herself as a child of the Mexican Revolution, which began in 1910. She grew up
with her mother, father, and two older sisters named Matilde and Adriana. It wasn’t until a year
after Frida’s birth that her parents had another child, a girl named Christina (Lowe 15). When
Frida was about six years old she contracted polio, which left her bedridden for almost a year.
Although her illness left her right leg deformed, Frida’s father Guillermo, encouraged her to be
physically active which included playing rigorous sports (“Frida Kahlo”). In 1922 when Frida
was around fifteen she was enrolled into the National Preparatory School, where she met
rebellious, intelligent, and politically involved students that shaped Frida’s views on the
revolution. While studying at the National Preparatory School, Frida enjoyed science courses so
she was determined to go to medical school and become a doctor despite the low numbers of
women doctors in Mexico (Lowe 17). In September of 1925, Frida was riding a bus home with
her boyfriend Alejandro Gómez Arias when the bus collided with another vehicle. In the
accident, Frida suffered many injuries such as breaks in her spinal colums, ribs, collar bone, a
shatterd right leg, and a crushed right foot; however the injury that caused Frida the most
physical, and emotional damage was a metal handrail that entered through her pelvis and exited
through the other side, breaking her pelvic bone. These injuries left her in almost a full body cast
for several weeks in the hospital, and then several months at home bedridden. This accedent
forced Frida to give up her medical career goal because of her inability to attend school classes
and because of the haunting diagnosis that the doctors gave her saying that she would never walk
again. It was in Frida’s bedridden state that she began painting, eventually completing her first
self portrait which she gave to Aries with whom she was romatically invloved. As Frida
recovered from her injuries, eventually walking again, she continued painting portaits of her
family and of herself. Wanting to know if she could become a real artist, Frida met with Diego
Rivera, a political painter she met while he was painting a mural at her school. These two
reconnected and soon become romantically envoled.
Marriage
In 1929, only four years after her tragic bus accident, Frida was married to Diego Rivera who
introduced her to new set of artistic and political people (Bauer 19). While married, Frida
absorbed her role as a wife and put her painting aside to help her husband on his projects.
Although Frida stuck out to Rivera’s friends as a vivacious character, to others she was only seen
as Rivera’s wife. The couple traveled a lot during their first three years of marriage due to
Rivera’s commissions and awarded honors. During the first year of marriage, Frida discovered
Rivera’s lack of faithfulness as she uncovered his many affairs with different women. This
caused a large complication in their marriage, which became more problematic with the
miscarriage of their unborn three-month old child (Bauer 51). In 1930 Diego was offered a
commission in California and together the young couple left for the United States. There, Rivera
flourished and Frida began to receive more recognition although she wasn't fond of white people
or “gringos” as she called them. During this time she completed an art piece that was a painting
of her and her husband called Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
In 1931 the couple returned to Mexico City where they lived in a home that Rivera had built for
them. Later that year Rivera was invited to a museum in New York where his work was to be put
on exhibition, and he arrived there promptly with Frida. Frida enjoyed the culture of New York
but missed her home in Mexico. It wasn't until 1932 when Frida was in Detroit with Rivera, that
she endured a series of life altering events that persuaded her to begin painting again. While In
Detroit accompanying Rivera on his commissioned mural, Frida became pregnant with Rivera’s
child to which she tried to abort with the help of her doctor. After several failed abortion
attempts, Frida became adjusted to the idea of having a child. She had many fears and worries
about the pregnancy but Frida had yearned to have a child of Rivera’s and so she prepared
herself for the possibility of a baby. Not soon afterwards, Frida had a terrible miscarriage to
which she almost bled to death. Frida spent many days in the Henry Ford Hospital mourning the
death of her child as she painted an art piece entitled Henry Ford Hospital.
While in the hospital Frida learned about her mothers deteriorating health, and rushed to Mexico
to be by her mother’s side. In mid September in Mexico City, Frida’s mother died, presumably
of cancer (Dexter 62). Rivera and Frida had traveled a bit more before Frida’s longing for home
drove the couple back to Mexico. Although Frida and Rivera knew of each other’s multiple
affairs, when Frida discovered Rivera was involved with her sister Cristina, Frida divorced
Rivera only to remarry him a few months later in 1940. In both marriages, Frida and Rivera lived
very isolated lives from each other due to their separate career paths and growing animosity
towards one another. They stayed in the same house together, the Blue House, but they lived in
separate rooms and had separate lives.
Late Years/Death
After Frida’s several miscarriages, her mothers death, her divorce and remarriage and two years
later her fathers death, Frida went through a change in which she began to fully accept herself as
an artist rather than a mother or simply Rivera’s little wife. Frida was offered many group
exhibitions some local and some as far as Paris, where she traveled to by herself to show off her
exhibition. While in Paris Frida became very ill and had to be hospitalized. Even after she
returned to Mexico her health continued to deteriorate but that didn’t stop Frida from teaching
and remaining active in the community. During the mid 1940’s Frida’s health was so poor that
she was bed ridden and forces to wear a back brace that is seen in her painting The Broken
Column.
Frida underwent many surgeries in the late 1940’s through the late 1950’s, which only
temporarily relieved her pain. Frida was allowed to go back home but she was forced to stay in
bed while her family, close friends and sometimes her husband cared her for. Frida’s last public
appearance was in a rally with Rivera in July 1954, and just four days later she celebrated her
birthday with many friends and family. On July 13th, 1954 Frida died and was pronounced dead
due to a pulmonary embolism, which is the blockage of a main artery in the lung, although many
believe that it was a suicide. Frida was cremated and her ashes remain in her childhood home,
The Blue House (Bauer 75).
Accomplishments/ Legacy
Frida Kahlo left a lasting impression on the city of Mexico as well as artists and communities
around the world. She has had many exhibitions in Mexico, the United States and in Europe, and
many different artists such as Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso praised her work. In 2007 Mexico
City commemorated Frida’s birth by holding the largest exhibit of Frida Kahlo paintings in the
Museum of Fine Arts Palace where 354 of her art pieces were on display (Daniela, “Frida Kahlo
and Contemporary Thoughts”). Frida has not only inspired many visual artists but also many
fashion designers such as Lena Hoschek, Alberta Ferretti and Valentino, as seen in their fashion
collections. Frida Kahlo has also been the subject of many documentaries and in 2002 had a
movie created about her life staring the famous Hispanic actress Salma Hayek. In her art career
Frida inspired many surrealists and political painters but outside of her art career she inspired
many feminists, rebels and revolutions. By being the loud, colorful woman that she was, Frida
influenced men and women of all different backgrounds around the world.
Books Written About Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo- Song of Herself- by Salomon Grimberg
Frida Kahlo- by Sarah M. Lowe
Frida Kahlo- by Claudia Bauer
Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo- by Hayden Herrera
Frida Kahlo- Edited by Emma Dexter and Tanya Barson
The Diary of Frida Kahlo- by Carlos Fuentes
Quotes
“There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the train the other was Diego. Diego
was by far the worst.” – Frida Kahlo
“I drank to drown my sorrows, but the damned things learned how to swim.” – Frida Kahlo
“Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?” – Frida Kahlo
“I don't paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.” – Frida Kahlo
“They are so damn 'intellectual' and rotten that I can't stand them anymore....I [would] rather sit
on the floor in the market of Toluca and sell tortillas, than have anything to do with those
'artistic' bitches of Paris.” – Frida Kahlo
“I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return.” – Frida Kahlo
“Neither you nor Derain nor I can paint a face the way Frida Kahlo does.” – Pablo Picasso to
Diego Rivera
Works Cited
Bauer, Claudia, ed. “Frida Kahlo”. Prestel,
2007. Book.
Dexter, Emma, ed. Barson, Tanya, ed. “Frida Kahlo”. Tate Publishing,
2005. Book.
Falini, Daniela. “Frida Kahlo and Contemporary Thoughts.”
Web. 07 Oct. 2014
“Frida Kahlo.” Bio.
A & E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 07 Oct. 2014
“Frida Kahlo the Complete Works.”
Creative Common License, 2002. Web. 08 Oct. 2014
"Frida Kahlo Quotes." Good Reads.
Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Gomez, Nadia. Rivera, Juan Rafael. “Frida Kahlo’. Everbest Printing Co,
2006. Book.
Grimbery, Salomon. “Frida Kahlo the Song of Herself”. Merrell,
2008. Book.
Lowe, Sarah. “Frida Kahlo”. Hong Kong: Universe Publishing,
1991. Book.