Frida Kahlo And The Broken Column

Frida Kahlo was a very talented Mexican artist that revolutionized art at a very young age. Her work is still idolized and celebrated today and is studied by many artists, institutes of higher education, museums, and fans. Kahlo was born in the town of Coyoacan, Mexico on July the sixth in the year of 1907 (Kettenmann 3). She made around 143 paintings, and out of those 143 paintings, 55 were self-portraits that included symbolism of her physical and emotion pain. Furthermore, in her portraits she used symbolism to express her wounds and sexuality. She use to say: “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality” (Fuentes 41). Her paintings style include of vibrant colors and was heavily influenced

At a very early age she was starting to show signs of all the troubles that her life was going to bring onto her. “In 1913 at age 6, Frida was struck with Polio which made it difficult for her to use her right leg properly and it was left damaged” (Griffiths, 2014). This accident was one of the reasons why Frida began wearing long colorful skirts because she used them as a cover up for her deformed leg. “In the year of 1925, the year that Frida had just turned 18, she was injured in a near fatal street accident in which a bus collided with a tram” (Rogers, 2009), this accident caused her to break her pelvic bone and spinal column. It was cause of this accident that the doctors that were looking after her at the time of the accident were starting to question if she was going to be able to survive. This accident caused her to continue having back surgeries throughout her lifetime. This accident was also the reason why she started painting. Frida Kahlo once stated “I don't paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.” This quote acknowledges how bizarre a lot of paintings that Frida Kahlo made were but to Frida Kahlo it was all reality, her life as well as accidents were real bizarre. “In the year of 1926 Frida Kahlo spends time at the hospital recovering from all her injuries at the time while at the Hospital she learns that she

One of the unique parts of the ‘Seated Woman’ painting is the style that is presented by Picasso. Made mainstream in the art world by Picasso and fellow artist Georges Braque, cubism is the

The second piece of art is called: “Wounds of Existence.” This seems to be a painting on a unusually rugged surface made out of un-sanded wooden planks. It depicts what seems like, a man and a women with their faces close to each other with sad faces. The subject matter of this piece seem to be mellow and sad. I picked this piece because it jumped out at me at how absolutely unique it was, being painted on wooden planks.

When first addressing these two pieces they look very familiar however when assessing them on a deeper level you can notice the great differences due to time period. The first piece titled “Virgin and Child Enthroned” is a great representation of Italian art. Painted by a Florentine artist Cimabue, the piece is greatly recognized, as it’s believed to be a painting on a high altar of Santa Trinita Church. This piece seems to have heavy Byzantine and Romanesque influence, especially seen with the use of gold. The picture looks unrealistic and stylized with its spatial ambiguities and subtle asymmetries.

Frida suffered immensely, died young, and spoke directly through her paintings. All the physical and spiritual sufferings Frida experienced is mirrored in her art. Most of Frida’s paintings are collages of pain. Obsessed with her health and grief, she created portraits that were intense and emotional.

The artwork Frida Kahlo completed during her lifetime was heavily influenced by the suffering triggered by the torment of her physical incapability’s and tumultuous marriage. From physical to romantic to family predicaments Frida Kahlo is the epitome of demonstrating “alegria [joy] in the face of suffering” (Herrera 6).

The first painting depicts a young woman lying in a field on a farm in what appears to be an awkward position. She may be experiencing some type of internal or emotional pain which may have temporarily halted her ability to move. The field is very close to what one might assume is her home. The painting appears very somber and melancholy and I would hypothesize the young woman is longing for something she might have recently loss; possibly a relationship or significant material possession. The woman gazes towards the house as if she is waiting for something. The colors in the painting are very neutral and the feelings provoked are those of sadness. Another hypothesis could be she is pondering her life path and struggling to

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s fame only grew larger after her death, bringing her art as well as her personal life into museums, books, and also movies. Through her life Kahlo dealt with various illness, tumultuous relationships, and was even involved in some political movements. Consequently, her art was influenced by all the experiences as seen and felt through her own eyes and flesh.

Before her life as an artist, Frida Kahlo would suffer traumatic experiences that will lead her to taking her first steps into the world of art. She would experience pain in her childhood that will lead into her early adulthood. As an adult, Frida would then suffer a fatal accident as well as the infidelity of her husband. In addition to the personal issues she endured, she also dealt with the questioning of her national identity. Kahlo’s artistic abilities later led her to create self-portraits which often showed herself suffering. Using her personal tragedies, Frida Kahlo was able to render paintings that resembled pain and suffering.

Frida Kahlo is a celebrated Mexican artist that came from a multi-racial background. Her heritage and other pivotal moments in he life would later be portrayed in many of the fifty-five self-portraits she would paint during her life. Kahlo began painting while in bed recovering from a bus accident that not only left her in a body cast for three months, but with never ending pain throughout her life. Kahlo would begin to pursue the selling and exhibition of artwork. This lead Frida to seek out painter Diego Rivera, hoping that in him she could find a mentor and guide into the art world. They married in 1929 and so began a tumultuous marriage full of infidelities and heartache. Much that happened during their marriage would become subject matter for her painting later deemed part of Surrealism. “Though not an official member of Surrealism, Kahlo's bizarre imagery along with her linear style was reminiscent of Surrealist” paintings, she is often said to be a surrealist painter, through she did not identify with the movement herself. (theartstory.org) After a live of loss, martial owes, and pain, Frida died in 1954, at the age of forty-seven, leaving behind a legacy of painting that spoke volumes concerning her emotion and state of

Reading Mimi Y. Yang’s “Articulate Image, Painted Diary: Frida Kahlo's Autobiographical Interface, " I was particularly impressed with the amount of struggle Frida lived with daily and how she chose to overcome to express her pain through her paintings, and her loneliness through her diaries (Yang, 314). It’s truly remarkable how beautiful Frida’s paintings are, and how much her suffering comes through in works such as The Broken Column and The Two Fridas. I know if I were in as much pain, both physically and emotionally, as Frida, I would most likely stay in bed all day, never mind have the strength to express my personal inner emotions through confessional mediums. Additionally, Frida’s free expression taught me to embrace who I am, both the negative and positive aspects, as she did. Frida never seemed to give into society’s expectations of a female, and continuously pushed boundaries with her confessional art, an aspect of Frida I believe all individuals should

“I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.” Known as one of the most influential Latin American artist’s Frida Kahlo was a female Mexican painter, recognized for her elaborate Mexican dress and detailed self-portraits. Suffering through many struggles and tragedies in the beginning stages in her life, including an almost fatal bus crash and polio at the age of six. Events lead to her often being alone, this lead to her painting herself, as she was who she known best. Frida Kahlo’s paintings and amazing battle have inspired many all over the world, her elaborate dress has sparked many Halloween costumes over the years and an abundance of conventions and celebrations of her life; this is the

Frida Kahlo’s “The Two Fridas” is a manifestation of heartbreak, inner human pain, rejection of colonialism, and emotional journey. An oil on canvas made in 1939 in the midst of Frida Kahlo’s divorce from Diego Rivera, this painting embodied Frida Kahlo’s progression at this time in her life, dealing with what she is and what she wishes to be; as well as setting out how she wishes to do it. An ode to melancholy and overcoming adversity, “The Two Fridas” is a universal, eternal reminder of human capability.

Both paintings were created in the historical context of the Progressive Eras, 1896-1916. Where the widespread of activism and political reform were taking place. The main objective was to eliminate the corruption in government.