Frida Kahlo: The Mexican Muralist Movement

Frida Kahlo de Rivera born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon July 6th, 1907 was a Mexican Painter who mainly focused on painting self-portraits. Born to a German father and mestiza mother, she spent most of her childhood and adult life in her family home in Coyoacan. She died July 13, 1954 at age 47. Her death was due to Pulmonary Embolism.

Frida Khalo was born in Mexico City, has a young woman she was in a bus accident causing her to have life long injuries and pain. The time spent bedridden recovering, allowed her to develop her painting skill. Khalo had deep connection to her culture and heritage using symbols within her work. In 1928 Khalo married Diego Rivera a fellow artist their relationship was turbulent. Diego cheated on her with many other women that effect Khalo and her Art. Due to her injuries, Khalo could never carry a child to full term, this was

Rivera held commited views against the censorship of his work and was not silent about it at all. Some of his most famous painting included Man at the Crossroads, The Flower Carrier, and The History of Mexico. Through his life he continued his dream of becoming artist . In 1928, Frida Kahlo meet Diego rivera in hopes of getting his opinion of her art work. Frida Kahlo first met Diego Rivera when she was an art student hoping to get advice on her career from the famous Mexican muralist. Although Rivera was married, a courtship ensued. They wed in 1929 , despite the 20 year between the two and disapproval of Frida's parents, who referred to the couple as "the elephant and the dove." With the tempers and countless infidelities, the marriage was notoriously uproarious. The couple divorced in 1939 only to remarry a year later, though the second marriage was just as turbulent as the first. Both have long been recognized as important painters who achieved great international popularity during their lifetimes. When it comes to Diego Rivera and his work, no one stopped him from sharing his beliefs religiously, politically, and other beliefs he

Born the 6th of July in the year of 1907, Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo was raised in a world with emerged with the cultures of German and Mexican. It was with the cultural influence of her heritage and altruistic qualities and values adapted from her parents, that at a very young age had an impact on Frida Kahlo, and a perpetuate influence on her future work and lifestyle. Her father, Guillermo Kahlo born in Pforzheim, Germany, was noted to have inspired her natural admiration and talent in the art of painting as he himself was a renowned professional photographer at the time. From Guillermo Kahlo, Frida singlehandedly learned and implemented her distinguished techniques in her paintings such as the “bizarre imagery along with her linear style [that] was reminiscent of Surrealism” and could compare to the painting style of “Salvador Dali” (Beaver). Kahlo’s relationship with her mother, Matilde Calderon however, impacted her work and lifestyle in a complete distinctive manner in comparison to that of her father’s influence. Despite the aid, care, and creative attention her father granted her, Maltilde withdrew herself from Frida as her caretaker, as she

Frida Kahlo is considered to be one of Mexico’s greatest artists. Frida Kahlo is mostly remembered for her self-portraits. She once said, “I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.” Frida Kahlo had an exotic look that was captivating.

Frida Kahlo's work has been influenced by the physical and psychological traumatic events of her childhood and early adulthood, including accident paralyzed and betrayal of her husband. In addition to the personal issues in addition to issues of national identity. Her mixed ancestry - Mexican and German - provides a rich source of the subject, particularly during World War II, when Kahlo changed the spelling of

While his love for art was encouraged at an early age, Diego Rivera’s relationship with Frida Kahlo was full of love and drama, yet not as much as the controversy he caused during his movement-inspiring art career, which continued after him. At an early age, Diego Rivera began to express his artistic skill. José Diego Rivera (Hamill 11) and his twin brother, José Carlos Rivera (Hamill 11), were born on December 8, 1886 in Guanajuato, Mexico (Biography.com Editors 1). His father was Diego Rivera, a teacher (Helms 23). His mother was María del Pilar Barrientos (Hamill 11), who was also a teacher (Helms 23). Rivera’s mother had endured three stillborns before she had José Carlos and Rivera (Hamill 11). At one and a half years old, José Carlos

Born the middle child to her family in 1907 to a country in political unrest, Frida Kahlo is a controversial and famous Mexican artist whose life experiences, although traumatic, were the driving force behind her art which has inspired feminists and contemporary artists for decades. On the outside, Mexico appeared to be an economically and socially prospering country. Crime rates had been lowered, railroads abound, and new factories being built. Leading from 1876-1911, Porfirio Diaz urbanized and industrialized Mexico as an elitist dictator. Under the ruse of a “President”, Diaz held regular elections that were controlled in every aspect by him. 1910 marked the beginnings of a revolution, the country demanded democracy and was planning to overthrow Diaz. In 1911, Diaz was promptly thrown out of office and replaced with Francisco Madero, who refused to appease to the people and offer the reforms they were demanding. ("Modern History”) The world of political instability and revolutions is the one that Kahlo was born into.

The two Fridas are holding hands and with a vein connecting them from heart to heart. The painting was set to represent her emotional instability due to her divorce from husband Diego Rivera in 1939. The piece demonstrates to the world that Kahlo was emotionally damaged and therefore her heart was vulnerable and some part of her even

Because of her experiences with infertility, many of her paintings reference reproductive failure and never being able to be a mother. Kahlo created at least one hundred paintings along with lots of drawings and studies. Fifty five are self-portraits which often incorporate symbolic portrayals of physical and psychological wounds she had sustained previously. Kahlo wasn’t a dream painter it was just her own reality she faced. Frida was taken her artistic skills to her m’exicano culture. Drawing herself with a horrific, broken and damaged life for people to see her meaning of her art. Frida presented anguish and distinct visuals of herself by wearing peasant clothing and red eyes. As a young artist she met another artist, this older mans name was Diego Rivera. Diego had a great influence on Kahlo's painting style and wanted to see more of her artistic skills. Kahlo had always admired Rivera in a lust way and enjoyed him as an artist. She showed him four of her paintings, and his opinion on rather he thought they were good or not. The encouraging and outstanding comments made by older Rivera strengthened Kahlo's wish to pursue a career as an

Friday Kahlo was a Mexican painter born in 1907. She achieved great international popularity and her use of vibrant colours in many of her works was influenced by indigenous cultures of Mexico as well as Realism, Symbolism and Surrealism. At the age of eighteen, Kahlo was involved in a violent bus accident, damaging her spine and marking her life with chronic pain, infertility and health problems. In Frida Kahlo’s paintings the physical and emotional pain of these injuries transcend from the canvas. http://www.frida-kahlo-foundation.org/.

Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderon, also known as Frida Kahlo, was born on July 6th, 1907 in the beautiful town of Coyoacan Mexico City, Mexico. The residence that her father built in 1904 was named the Casa Azul (Blue House), and it was adorned with blue washed walls that added a U-shaped form to the room. In the house there were high elevated windows that were placed all around, and in the center was a lovely garden filled with subtropical plants; which is where her childhood took place. At a young age Kahlo was diseased with polio which led to horrible pain that made it unbearable for her to even get up from bed for several months, leaving her with a deformed left leg. Although Kahlo was suffering

Since Kahlo’s art work is stylistically unique, people are curious to how she got to this style and how she came up with these concepts for her paintings. She was the wife of Diego Rivera, and and artist who was struggling to find her identity. Being married to Rivera her and her art was placed in his shadow. She was known as ‘Diego’s Wife’, not as the independent artist Frida Kahlo we know today. It wasn’t until their divorce in 1939 that her art starts to become more popular. During the divorce she created some of her most powerful works.2 Her self-portraits show her sadness, rage, and mask-like emotions during the divorce. Showing her inner turmoil, split identity, of who she was and who she had become. 3 She was the wife of Diego Rivera who shared her passion in the arts; She had become a divorcee from a poisonous relationship and dealing with painful injuries from an injured pelvis and multiple miscarriages.4 Painting became her only way of escape. These paintings

“The use of symbols is a powerful means used by the artists to connect with the viewer on a personal or universal level. These symbolic messages give strength and meaning to artworks and are achieved through the artist’s choice of media, techniques and imagery”. Two artists who exemplify this use of symbolism are Marc Chagall and Frida Kahlo. Frida Kahlo was an artist, moulded by the context of her personal life, who is commemorated for her use of symbolism in her many auto-biographical artworks. Kahlo, born on July 6th 1907 in Coyocoán, Mexico City, suffered though many problematic circumstances. At age 6 Kahlo was diagnosed with polio and, was then bedridden for nine months. The disease damaged her right foot and leg which resulted in her forming a permanent limp. (Biography.com Editors , 2017) At age eighteen Kahlo was then involved in a horrific accident when she was on a bus and their vehicle collided with a streetcar. The accident forced a steel rail to impale Kahlo from the front of her hip right through to the other side. These fractures to her hips, ribs, collarbones, feet and shoulders caused her to be surrounded by a full body cast, which started her love for art. She began painting images on her cast, one-by-one, using her spare time to pursue her new found love. In 1929 Kahlo married the well-known artist, Diego Rivera. Their relationship was tumultuous and soon resulted in their divorce in 1939. This heartbreak caused Kahlo to become overwhelmed

Frida Kahlo’s portrait painting “ The Two Fridas ” ( 1939 ) reflects her psychological and emotional trauma as a result of her experiences in life and display her inner demons. The double self portrait “The two Fridas" displays two seated representations of Frida sitting together in front of a stormy sky with both of their hearts exposed. One of the two Frida’s is dressed nearly all in white bridal attire and has an open heart and splashes of blood on her dress. The other wears a bold coloured Mexican costume and has a closed heart. Kahlo’s intention with this painting was to represent the different phases of her relationship with her husband Diego Rivera and the effect that Diego's adulterous nature had on her. This is displayed through the use of symbolism in the distinct exposed hearts. By contrasting the two seated figures of herself she conveys the times where she felt “unloved” and “loved” by him. The figures also represent her turmoil and self-doubt and conflicting cultural identity. Kahlo used oils on canvas in her signature Mexican surrealist style of bold contrasting colours and a combination of raw and precise brushwork. Strongly influenced by Mexican art and Modernist painting her use of contrasting white colours in the left hand figure