Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist, famous for her self-reflective, Surrealist paintings. She was born in 1907 and died from pneumonia and other complications in 1954 at the mere age of forty-seven. Frida was the daughter of Guillermo Kahlo, a Hungarian Jew and notable Mexican photographer, and Matilde Calderon, who was of Spanish and Indian descent (Taschen, 7). Although Guillermo had two daughters from a previous marriage, Frida was the first daughter to be born to he and his second wife, Matilde.
Frida's mother became pregnant again very soon after Frida's birth and was therefore unable to nurse Frida. Because of this, Frida had a wet nurse and never felt truly connected to her mother (Herrera, 14). On the other hand, Frida was extremely close with her father. In fact, her father viewed her as his favorite child (Herrera, 18). They spent a great deal of time together, during which Guillermo taught Frida how to retouch photographs. Frida also accompanied her father on many of his photo shots (Herrera, 21).
Frida contracted polio at the age of seven which consequently held her back a year in school and left her with an atrophied leg. [See http://www.cascade.net/kahlo. html] As a means of protecting herself from being made fun of for her unhealthy leg, Frida became eccentric and played mainly with boys (Herrera, 29). In fact, was a part of a group nicknamed the "Cachuchas" which consisted of seven boys and only two girls (Herrera, 31). Additionally, Frida developed an imaginary friend who was able to dance rather than limp as Frida often did. This imaginary friend became a confidant with whom Frida shared her "secret problems (Herrera, 29)."
Frida entered the National Preparatory School in 1922 with the hope of studying medicine, something very uncommon for women of her time (Tibol, 10). Her talents were quickly recognized there, and Frida was well accepted by the other students. She was dating a young man named Alejandro Gomez Arias whom she met at school (Herrera, 32). Then, on September 17, 1925, as Frida and Alejandro were traveling home from school together on the bus, the course of Frida's life changed forever (Taschen, 17). The bus they were riding in collided with a trolley car, seriously injuring Frida and many others. [See http://www.cascade.net/kahlo.html] During the accident, a metal rod punctured Frida's abdomen. In addition, her spinal column, pelvis, collarbone, right leg and foot, left shoulder and two ribs were all damaged in some way (Herrera, 34). Although Frida's body eventually healed, she suffered many illnesses, discomforts and disappointments later in life as a result. This accident is what many feel made Frida into the artist she is remembered as today.
Frida became a member of the Mexican communist Party in 1928 and remained politically active throughout her entire life. In fact, Frida identified so heavily with the Mexican Revolution that she changed the year of her birth to 1910, the year the revolution began (Herrera, 7). Then, at the age of twenty-two, Frida married the famous Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera (Taschen, 93). Together, they fought for the ideas of Marxism and enjoyed shaping one another's art. Following a long series of mutual affairs, Frida and Diego divorced ten years after their marriage, only to remarry each other in less than one year. Frida and Diego had no children although Frida was pregnant on several occasions. Because she had been wounded so severely in the trolley/bus accident, Frida was unable to carry a child to full term and consequently had to have multiple abortions. This created a great deal of sorrow for Frida who desperately wanted to have a child.
Frida continued painting until her death and had the honor of being asked to display her art at various exhibitions (Tibol, 95). [See http://www.infosel.com.mx/mercado/pulsar/pictoric/ingles/Fridakah.html] Frida had her first show at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in 1938. Andre Breton, the famous Surrealist poet and essayist, wrote the introduction to the exhibition catalogue, and images from the show appeared in "Vogue" and "Life (Tibol, 69)." In 1938, Andre Breton organized an International Exhibition of Surrealism at the Gallery of Mexican Art in which Frida was asked to participate. Then in 1939, Frida once again took part in an exhibition sponsored by Breton, only this time in Paris. Frida was becoming quite respected and well-known. With these invitations for exhibitions also came many commissions for her art (Tibol, 62).
Then, in 1942, Frida began teaching at "La Esmeralda" School of Art among many other famous Mexican creators of the time. [See http://www.bucknell.edu/~ stolz/tff.stuff/frida.html] She enjoyed passing on her life knowledge to the students and was know for treating her students with respect and empathy (Tibol, 178). While teaching, Frida became ill and was no longer able to travel to the school to work with her students. This greatly saddened both Frida and her adoring students who, knowing her fame, wanted desperately to study under her (Tibol, 180). Knowing this situation, the school paid for the students to travel to Frida's home and work with her there. For both the students and Frida, this was a very freeing experience. And Frida is said to have had a creative resurgence at this time (Tibol, 179-181).
Although she enjoyed her role at "La Esmeralda," Frida was forced to resign due to her health. She became so ill that she could not paint at all because her hands were shaking so badly (Taschen, 80). Then, on July 13, 1954, Frida passed away in the same house in which she was born.
Exposing intimate aspects of herself, a large number of Frida's paintings were self-portraits. It is said that Frida painted herself as a type of catharsis, trying to release all of the sorrow associated with her illnesses and inner tragedy. Similarly, by painting self-portraits, Frida was able to project her pain onto "another Frida," the one she painted on the canvas. In doing so, Frida relieved herself from the burden of dealing with all of her agony on her own (Herrera, 4).
Frida herself explained that she created such a large number of self-portraits, indicative of her strong intrapersonal skills, "because [she was] so often alone, because [she was] the person [she knew] best." This makes sense because, as Hayden Herrera explains in Frida Kahlo: The Paintings, Frida had plenty of time to get to know herself while recuperating from the trolley/bus accident she was involved in (3). During that time Frida was confined to her bed for many months, and it is easy to see how that type of existence would leave one with nothing to do but peer into one's own soul.
Also, I postulate that Frida's social difficulties during childhood which revolved around being made fun of for her atrophied leg contributed to the development of her intrapersonal intelligence. It is noted by Herrera that when the teasing began, Frida created an imaginary friend with whom she shared her most intimate thoughts (29). Because that friend did not actually exist in real life, it follows then that when Frida was talking with her imaginary friend, she was, in reality, talking with herself and disclosing her most intimate thoughts to herself. Thus, Frida began to deepen her intrapersonal intelligence.
Moreover, as Frida grew older, her desire to create herself also grew. In her diary, Frida described herself as "the one who gave birth to herself (Herrera, 9)." She also painted "My Birth" in 1932 which was an attempt to create her own birth. In the painting, the viewer sees Frida being born, her face looking as though it is a thirty year old version of herself. The "infant's" head, lying in a pool of blood, limp and lifeless, insinuates the life of pain and suffering Frida felt she was destined to live. Similarly, a portrait of the Virgin Mary weeping above the bed on which Frida is born is meant to foretell the hardships of Frida's life (Herrera, 10). In this way, "My Birth" is not only Frida's creation and ownership of her birth, but also her death. Referring to this painting, Lola Alvarez Bravo said that Frida "is the only person who gave birth to herself ."
Frida also created herself in a sense by making up her own distinct way of dressing and adorning herself. She frequently wore the long skirts that were traditional in Mexico before the influence of Europe took hold, and she enjoyed wearing her hair in intricate braids fashioned with all kinds of decorations (Herrera, 7). By dressing differently than everyone else in her time, Frida was creating her own self and her own identity.
Another distinguishing characteristic of Frida which differentiates her from anyone else is that, in revealing such intimate details of her life in her art, she makes the viewer face parts of him/herself that have been yet unexplored (Herrera, 4). Upon seeing her recovering from an abortion, sleeping with a skeleton, painting from a palette made of a human heart and torn in half by her own spinal column, one cannot help but feel her emotion and contemplate what might be a part of his/her own life that is of equal sentiment.
Nelson Goodman, although mentioning nothing about Frida Kahlo in his book Languages of Art, explains this phenomenon stating, "Negative emotions of fear, hatred, disgust may become positive when occasioned by a play or painting (246)." He continues, explaining that tragedy in art has the capability of being therapeutic and cleansing us of our most horrifying thoughts (246). In 1953, Diego said something very similar to Raquel Tibol in regard to Frida's work. He eloquently explained that tragedy was not the focal point of Frida's art but instead a dark background by which she could further illuminate her great strength and endurance. Diego concluded that Frida was "teaching her comrades, human beings, how to resist opposing forces and triumph over them to reach a higher joy (Tibol, 7)."
Diego beginning
Diego builder
Diego my child
Diego my boyfriend
Diego painter
Diego my love
Diego "my husband"
Diego my friend
Diego my mother
Diego my father
Diego my son
Diego = me =
Diego Universe
Diversity within unity.
-Frida Kahlo, The Diary of Frida Kahlo, 235
Frida had a special affection for the artists of the Italian Renaissance and especially liked Botticelli, Modigliani and Parmigianino (Herrera, 41). In fact, her painting "Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress" is reflective of such Renaissance painting in that Frida's neck and fingers are elongated and elegant in that particular piece. In addition, Frida also had an appreciation for Oriental Art and the Mexican painter Adolfo Best Maugard (Herrera, 41).
Another great influence of Frida's was her friend Tina Modotti, an American photographer. Modotti provided Frida with her introduction into the art world and leftist politics (Herrera, 46). More importantly, Modotti supplied Frida with her second introduction to Diego Rivera, the famous Mexican muralist and Frida's future husband.
Diego himself played a large role in Frida's art work. For instance, when Frida was just beginning to become serious about her painting, she approached Diego to critique her work and tell her whether or not she should continue her endeavors in art. As always, Diego affirmed her in her efforts and went on to become one of her biggest fans. Later Diego espoused her as "the only woman who has expressed in her art the feelings, functions and creative power of woman."
One of the most influential individuals in Frida's life was the Surrealist poet and essayist Andre Breton. Breton took a liking to Kahlo, and quickly accepted her into the world of Surrealism of which he was the king (Tibol, 7). Before Frida even realized that she fit into the framework of Surrealism, Breton already had plans for her as a Surrealist artist. He went on to write an introduction to the catalogue for her show in New York and then sponsored her show in Paris in 1939 (Tibol, 71). Then again, only this time in Mexico, Breton organized the International Exhibition of Surrealism at the Gallery of Mexican Art and invited Frida to participate (Tibol, 95). He was welcoming, supportive and encouraging of Frida in every way.
Moreover, Frida's stay in the United States furthered her conviction that she must fight to maintain the indigenous aspect of Mexico instead of allowing the European way of life to take over (Cooey, 100). Expressing her feelings about European influence in Mexico, Frida painted "Self-portrait on the borderline between Mexico and the United States," in which she is standing between the ruins of Mexico and the industry of North America holding a Mexican flag in her hand. This indicates how strongly Frida disliked the industrialization and technological development she saw in the United States and the fact that she feared Mexico would soon fall into the same trap. This was a large concern of hers. In his book Creating Minds, Gardner expresses the idea that creative individuals are often "caught between cultures, inhabiting diverse time periods (11)." This is certainly true of Frida Kahlo in her marginality.
Because of her great artistic talent, Frida had opportunities to meet individuals such as Vasily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp and Pablo Picasso, all of whom she met in 1939 in Paris at an art exhibition in which she participated (Tibol, 71). In 1940, Frida also met Salvador Dali, another Surrealist, whose works were being exhibited alongside hers in the International Exhibition of Surrealism held in Mexico (Tibol, 95). Frida was also quite familiar with Andre Breton as mentioned before and was familiar enough with the writings of Sigmund Freud to base a painting on his book Moses.
Frida also had many friends whom she never had to give up for the sake of her art. For instance, she remained close with most of her friends until the time of her death. Frida did have difficulties getting along with her mother, but these problems can be traced back to her birth and the lack of attachment they had long before Frida even began painting (Herrera, 14). As further proof that Frida did not exhibit Faustian Bargains in the way of personal relationships, Frida remained extremely close to her father and highly revered him throughout her life (Herrera, 18).
Frida's health had been poor since her encounter with polio at the age of seven (Herrera, 7). Therefore, her continuously poor health cannot be construed as a Faustian Bargain. Frida did not neglect her health, she simply dealt with what little health she had and tried to overcome her physical adversities. For example, although she was physically unable to carry a child to full term, Frida never gave up on having a child. Additionally, she triumphed over her poor health by painting even when bed ridden from illness and discomfort.
Cooey, Paula M. Religious Imagination and the Body. Oxford University Press, New York, 1994.
Gardner, Howard. Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., New York, 1993.
Herrera, Hayden. Frida Kahlo: The Paintings. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., New York, 1991.
Kahlo, Frida. The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1995.
Taschen, Benedikt. Frida Kahlo: Pain and Passion. Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, 1992.
Tibol, Raquel. Frida Kahlo: An Open Life. University of New Mexico Press. Mexico, 1993.