Close your eyes and imagine looking at yourself in the mirror. What do you see? Do you notice any particular features (your eyes, hair, nose, mouth, ears) right away? Does looking at yourself make you feel anything in particular? What would someone be able to tell about you from looking at you? Would they be correct?
These are all questions about identity, something that was of great interest to the famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. She was known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and other paintings inspired by nature and the culture of Mexico. Much of her work today is seen as explorations of identity; who we are when viewed by ourselves and by others.
Frida Kahlo was born in 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico, at her family home called La Casa Azul, or The Blue House. She had three sisters. Her father was a photographer.
When she was six years old, Frida contracted polio, which weakened her legs severely, even making her right leg shorter and thinner than the left. While she was getting better, she had to be alone, although Frida was able to spend much of the time with her father, who taught her many subjects, including nature, good books, and photography. He also encouraged to play sports as a way to regain her strength and movement after her illness. While she was learning from her father, Frida was able to help him with his photography, performing tasks like retouching, developing and coloring his photos.
Frida went to a special school called the National Preparatory School. Its students focused on learning science with the goal of eventually becoming a doctor. At the time, the school had just started accepting women. Frida was a very smart student, read many books, and became very interested in Mexican culture.
At school Frida was hurt very badly when a bus she was on hit an electric streetcar. Among other injuries, her pelvic bone was fractured, her spine was broken in three places, her right leg was broken in eleven places, her right foot was crushed and dislocated, and her collar bone was broken. Frida would br stuck in bed for three months as she underwent recovery to heal from the accident. Because of her injuries and the amount of time it took to recover from them, Frida would not be able to continue on with her plans of becoming a doctor. During this time Frida found joy in art, and took up her childhood hobby of painting again. Her mother made her a special easel that she could use while laying in bed, and Frida placed a mirror above the easel so that she could see herself. She said “I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best.” For her paintings, Frida preferred to paint things as she saw them with her own eyes. Frida also painted portraits of her sisters and her school friends.
In 1928, Frida met another artist named Diego Rivera. She asked him to give her his opinion of her work, and he was impressed. He called Frida “an authentic artist.” They would later marry and settle in Cuernavaca, where Diego had been asked to paint murals at the Palace of Cortes. Her parents referred to Frida and Diego as “the dove and the elephant” in regards to the great difference between their sizes.
While they were in Cuernavaca, Frida continued to paint and drew even more inspiration from Mexcian culture and other Mexican artists. While murals (these are large paintings often featuring big groups of people or other subjects) were very popular at the time, Frida Kahlo chose to paint in the style of small portraits, modeling her work after retablos, religious paintings on small metal sheets. She continued to focus on painting her subjects (herself included) realistically, including items from Mexican culture and nature to express herself and her ideas about herself and others.
After her husband’s work was completed in Cuernavaca, Frida and Diego moved to San Francisco, where he was asked to complete more murals, or large paintings. Frida spent time in Detroit and New York City as well, and became more comfortable talking about herself and her work. It was in San Francisco that Frida showed off one of her paintings for the first time.
In 1934 Frida returned to Mexico City, but she was not able to paint because of her poor health. About three years later she painted more, and her art continued to be shown off in galleries. It was also during this time that Frida made her first major sale of art, and received recognition from the French painter Andre Breton. Breton convinced Frida to open her first solo exhibition in New York City. An exhibition is when you show off your artwork. Frida’s Paris exhibition was not as successful as her New York showing; however, the Louvre museum purchased her work entitled The Frame, which gave Frida the honor of being the first Mexican artist to be featured in their collection. Frida Kahlo has a piece of her art hanging in the same museum as the Mona Lisa!
Frida Kahlo also spent her time to furthering the education of the Mexican people about their heritage and culture. She became a founding member of the Seminario de Cultura Mexicana, a group of twenty-five artists asked to spread public knowledge of Mexican culture. Her work with this group included planning shows and attending conferences on art.
In 1943, Kahlo took a teaching position at a school in Mexico City. Here she helped her students to gain a greater appreciation for Mexican popular culture and folk art. She encouraged her students to take inspiration from the people and things around them, and to portray them as they saw them in real life – or ‘on the street.’ As her health got worse, Frida was unable to teach at the school, so she began teaching classes from her home, La Casa Azul. Four of her students devoted themselves to learning from and helping care for Frida – they were referred to as ‘Los Fridos’ for their dedication to their teacher.
Frida finally had the chance for her own solo exhibition in Mexico, in 1953, towards the end of her life. Her health was so poor that the doctors advised her against attending the gallery and the showing, but she felt so strongly about her art that she insisted on having her bed moved from her home to the gallery. She was transported there by ambulance and spent the evening of the exhibition in her bed in the gallery.
Frida passed away in her home the following year at the age of 47.
It might be difficult to believe, but Frida Kahlo’s popularity and the world’s appreciation for her work has only grown after her death. Mexico has declared her paintings part of their national cultural heritage, and several of her paintings have sold for millions of dollars each at art auctions. Her home is now a museum that is visited by around 25,000 people a month. There is also a park with a bronze statue in it dedicated to her in Mexico. She was the first Mexican woman to be featured on a US postage stamp. She has been the subject of movies, ballets, operas, and she even appeared as herself in the Disney movie Coco.
People are interested in Frida Kahlo because of the way she lived her life and how she approached her works of art. Frida believed that people should be seen as they are, and let her portraits speak for themselves. She painted art when she was in pain, when she was happy, and when she was sad. Frida Kahlo’s art helped her express herself, and helped people see her as she truly was.
That’s one of the great things about art; when you look at it, you can decide how it makes you feel, and even let it help you express your feelings.