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The Two Fridas

Decent Essays

In 1889, soon after her divorce from Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo produced the self-portrait The Two Fridas. This emotionally disturbing, surreal painting features two symmetrically composed women seated on a sickly green bench. The holding of hands between the women emphasizes their unison. A stormy sky of distressed grey clouds ominously consumes the background of the portrait. Cool tones of color fill the frame to mimic the cold gazes of the women. The two Fridas, while otherwise identical, employ diverging styles and anatomical features. A white, highly embellished dress adorns the first Frida. Lace covers her shoulders and neck, and ruffles gather at the bottom of the dress. Her hairstyle appears slightly more lavish than the other Frida. …show more content…

The depiction of two Fridas implies a dualism between the subjects—a division within Frida herself. A vein connects the vulnerable hearts of the Fridas; while the first Frida’s heart is exposed, the other remains intact. The first Frida appears to have cut the vein with scissors, incising its passage across her arm; blood pours out of the wound, leaving spots of deep red on her otherwise pristine dress. In the second Frida’s hand rests a small portrait, perhaps her former husband; her vein wounds around her arm and remains connected to this …show more content…

These two artists expose their inner turmoil in response to personal tragedy. Kahlo utilizes symbolism, human anatomy, and composition as tools to convey her emotions; in contrast, van Gogh utilizes texture and color as tools to communicate his temperament. Kahlo implements a palette of cool colors—such as white, grey, blue, and green—to heighten the condition of solemnity and despair. The viewer observes these hues in the cool blue-grey of the clouds as well as the cool tones used in the coloring of the garments. On the other hand, van Gogh applies warmer colors and contrasting complementary hues. In particular, the vivid green coat of the subject juxtaposes the blood red background directly behind the subject. The clash of these varied hues enhances the sense of tension and anxiety of the image. The use of color between these artists differs in order to portray their different

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