Frida Kahlo Influences

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

Recognized for her eccentric, vivid paintings, Frida Kahlo was one of Mexico’s most notable artists. While observers may find themselves mesmerized by her work, some may not realize the intimacy and profound emotion behind each painting. Kahlo was an artist who utilized painting as an outlet for the physical and emotional suffering she endured throughout her life. From health complications to a troublesome marriage, these adversities would influence Frida’s painting style and content. Decades after her death, her expressive artwork continues to illustrate the vigor and beauty of emotion.

The artwork “The broken column” painted in 1944 by Frida Kahlo, expresses her agony and suffering in a disturbing way. There is a split in her torso going down her entire body, there are nails stuck into her face and going through the entire body. In the background she has painted dark valleys. In the start she painted herself nude but then later on decided to cover her lower body with a sheet that may be from the hospital. There is a broken column placed in her spine, which looks like it is about to breakdown. Although Frida Kahlo shows that her entire body is about to collapse due to the unbearable suffering she is going through, she has painted herself to look beautiful and strong she is delivering a message that she is still holding on and getting through the pain she is in. Her facial expression does not show much emotion but she has painted teardrops running down from her eyes, showing this pain and suffering will not stop her from facing her problems. ‘The broken column’ uses many elements and principles of arts to create an aesthetic. This artwork shows an intense deep blue sky, very vibrant, the background behind her consists of a dark yellow/brown colour, which is fairly dark, focussing the eye’s attention towards Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo was best known for her reflective self-portraits that defined the tragedies she'd endured. Explaining her affection for the style, Kahlo said, "I paint myself because I am so often alone, because I am the subject I know best.” Kahlo contracted Polio at the age of six which left her with a deformed foot, she was also Bed-bound while recovering from a grisly streetcar accident. Kahlo under went over 30 operations throughout her life; and over the years she painted a portrait of herself whenever she was troubled.

People may refer to Frida Kahlo as the lady with the unibrow, but others refer to her as one the greatest Mexican painters. She was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyocoan Mexico. When she was about 6 she was diagnosed with polio which is a highly contagious viral infection that can lead to paralysis, breathing problems, or even death. (Crosta 1) Due to polio she was bedridden for 9 months. Frida attended the National Preparatory School where she first noticed Diego Rivera who is a famous muralist. At this time she fell in love with another man Alejandro Gomez Arias. She and Alejandro were on a trip when a monumental moment happened which will change her life forever…. (Frida Kahlo Biography 1)

Frida Kahlo once said“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” There is no better person to say this than Kahlo, whose life was filled with pain and sadness. She was one of the most influential artists of her time, especially in the Mexican community.. The most important aspects of her life were her multicultural background, her tragic accident she survived as a teen, her relationship with Diego Rivera, her death, and her face as a product.

Frida Kahlo, she never intended to become a painter. Kahlo was aspired to become a doctor as a young woman, but after a horrible accident at the age of 18, it left her mentally, as well as physically scared for life. This event had totally changed her life forever. The theme in almost all of Frida’s painting was her own life. Her paintings were based on events took place during her lifetime. As we can see in many of Frida’s paintings, especially in her self-portraits, it expresses her own personal emotions along with feelings about an event that happened in her life, such as her physical condition, her lack of ability to conceive children of her own, her ideology of life and nature, and most important of all, it was her unstable relationship with her husband Diego. Somewhere between the movement of surrealism, realism and symbolism in the art of Frida Kahlo, she was able to bring out tenderness, femininity, reality, cruelty and suffering within her paintings.

Frida Kahlo was an amazing woman whose many tragedies influenced her to put her stories into her paintings. She was born in July 6th 1907 to a Mexican Roman Catholic mother who was of Indian and Spanish decent and a German photographer father. Frida had three sisters, Mitilde and Adriana, who were older and Christina who was younger. She learned about Mexican history, art and architecture by looking at her father’s photography. When Frida was six she got polio and it was a long time before she would heal completely. After surviving polio, Frida’s right leg became weak and thin, so her father encouraged her to play sports to help her.

Painting was the artistic escape route for Kahlo’s mind and body. To occupy her mind after the more than 30 surgeries, she began to paint as part of her recovery process. Fifty-five of her one hundred and forty-three paintings were self-portraits. These paintings were purposely painted in a naïve way to show vulnerability (“A Tribute to Frida Kahlo”). A few of her most famous works include: “Self-Portrait Between Mexico and the United States, 1932”, “My Dress Hangs There, 1933”, and

Frida Kahlo was involved in a bus accident at the age of eighteen, leaving her with a harsh puncture in her abdomen by a pole, a crushed right foot, a broken collarbone, two broken ribs, and two fracture in her spine amongst other injuries. Her self-portrait The Broken Column depicts Kahlo as naked, with a cavern of missing flesh in a line up her body. This wound reveals a crumbling white column. Her background, also, is bare and empty, featuring bleak ravines, corresponding to her wound. This symbolism indicates the way her circumstance has severely affected her, becoming a part of her identity for better or for worse.

More than 60 years have passed since the death of Frida Kahlo, a Surrealist Mexican painter. Frida Kahlo’s many talents were overshadowed by her husband’s fame during the course of her life. Yet, it wasn’t until her death and the early 1970’s where Frida’s artistic effort started to surpass that of her political and creative husband. Her biography is both depressive and particularly interesting. Many of her private moments and experiences are shared in her greatest pieces of art. Some of those valuable masterpieces contain her cherished possessions, in addition to them being the things that established her popularity and appreciation among distinct genders, cultures and ages around the world. Knowing this, it was in my interest to devote some quality time and effort to this woman whose life immediately captivated my attention and inspired me to understand and endure life as a woman.

In 1940 Frida Kahlo painted a self portrait after her divorce from Diego Rivera which left the world astonished because it was unforseen. This was one of her boldest works and examplified her pain to the viewer. Frida Kahlo was considered one of Mexico´s greatest artists. She was born in 1907 and died in 1954. She suffered alot in life, but one of the main accidents that transformed her life forever was the bus collision. On september 17, 1925 Frida and her boyfriend Alex Arias were on the bus to Coyoacn Mexico. As the bus driver began to turn on to Calzada de Tlpan, a street trolley approached. The bus driver tried to pass in front of the turning streetcar cautiously. Unfortunately he did not make it. This resulted in a handrail peircing through Frida´s abdomen. The collision left her in a great deal of pain, and she spent a full three months in a body cast. After months of recovery, Frida was able to learn to walk again but was left unable to have children. She would bare both the physical and emotional scars

Frida from one side to the other at the level of the pelvis (104). Frida Kahlo was left with a broken spinal column, a broken collarbone, several broken ribs, a broken pelvis, and eleven fractures in her right leg. In addition her right foot was dislocated and crushed, and her shoulder was out of joint. For a month, Frida was forced to stay flat on her back, encased in a plaster cast and enclosed in a boxlike structure. The steel handrail from the tram had literally gone through her body at the level of the abdomen; entering on the left side, it had gone out through the vagina. Due to this accident, Frida underwent thirty different operations and three miscarriages. It was during this time that Frida Kahlo discovered her talent for painting and drawing, also during this challenging time for her she produced "The Broken Spine". Having to depend on everyone but herself, Kahlo portrays herself as weak and helpless. She depicts her self-portrait with metal rods supporting her broken spine. Although Frida's recovery was miraculous, she did have relapses of tremendous pain and fatigue all throughout her life, which cause her to be hospitalized for long periods of time, bedridden at times (106). She underwent tremendous stress

4. Frida Kahlo essentially became an international cultural icon, honored by many people, especially in Mexico. Her artwork withholds visual symbolism of all kinds of emotional and physical pain and most importantly she incorporated indigenous culture and her depiction of the female experience. Including illustrating the feelings of death, loneliness, pain, including the pain of miscarriages, failed marriage, and the aftermath of tragic accidents. Through her imagery, she was able to portray her life experiences. She would include specific elements that symbolized something greater. Throughout the process of analyzing all different aspects of Frida Kahlo’s paintings, it provided a deeper understanding to each painting.