Frida Kahlo, An Amazing Woman Who Changed History

Women's History Month: Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo is one of the most famous Mexican artists. She is known for her surrealist style, which depicts the pain and suffering she endured throughout her life. Let’s learn a little more about this amazing woman.

A Painful Beginning

Frida Kahlo was born in Mexico City on July 6, 1907. She grew up with her mother, father, and five sisters in their family home, La Casa Azul (The Blue House.) You can visit the house today, which has become a museum.

Her father was a photographer and taught Frida the importance of lighting and composition (what is included) in a picture.

Frida had a tough life that was filled with pain and suffering. When she was six years old, she contracted polio and walked with a limp for the rest of her life.

Persevering, she worked very hard in school and was very smart. Frida had dreams of someday becoming a doctor. But when she was eighteen, she was involved in a terrible bus accident and nearly died. The accident would cause her pain for the rest of her life. Her dream of being a doctor was over, and she returned home.

Kahlo's Artistic Journey

As a child, Frida had always enjoyed art and was fascinated with her father’s photography. After the accident, she turned to art to occupy herself and channel her pain and emotions.

Shortly after the accident she met Diego Rivera, also an artist, and they married in 1929. Their marriage would be a rocky one. They divorced and eventually remarried.

Rivera was known for his large murals depicting Mexican history, life, and culture. Frida, on the other hand, preferred to paint portraits. She especially liked painting portraits of herself.

Many described Frida Kahlo’s paintings as an example of Surrealist style, although she disagreed.

Frida explained that her portraits were very real, and not based on a dream or her subconscious thoughts. She explained that the pain and suffering she depicted in her paintings were true pain and suffering that she had experienced.

Frida Kahlo was greatly influenced by her Mexican culture. She used bright, bold colors, and her paintings were often quite small in size.

In many self-portraits, Frida is not smiling and often includes skulls, daggers, and bleeding hearts. They were described as emotionally intense.

She also sometimes included images of Granzio, her pet deer who would walk with her through the family gardens.

Finally, Frida liked to paint herself wearing traditional Mexican clothing. She often wore Tehuana dresses with large floral prints, rebozos (large shawls), huipiles (loose-fitting shirts worn by Indigenous women), and large jewelry and flowers.

Fridamania

During her life, Frida Kahlo was not recognized for her work in Mexico. She was more popular in the US and Europe. In 1938, she had her first solo exhibition in New York City. She sold more than ½ of her paintings, and this became the turning point in her career.

In 1939, she went to Paris to display her work. While there, the Louvre purchased one of her paintings, The Frame, to add to their collection. It was the first painting the museum had acquired by a Mexican artist.

Frida Kahlo continued to paint until her death in 1954. She died in the same house, La Casa Azul, where she grew up.

During her life, Frida Kahlo painted over 200 paintings, most of which were self-portraits. In the 1970s, her work was re-discovered and became so popular it coined the term Fridamania.

Frida Kahlo will always be remembered for her powerful, emotional, and colorful self-portraits, making her one of history’s most famous Mexican artists.