FRIDA KAHLO1907 -1954

Frida Kahlo was born in Coyoacan in 1907 and was one of the best painters of surrealism. Frida Kahlo at eighteen suffered a terrible accident that left her unable to walk but thanks to this event during his recovery he learned to paint, she married the famous muralist Diego Rivera soon became pregnant, but miscarried in 1932, is a woman who suffered much as it had a leg amputated, could not have children and gave his love bronchopneumonia was Diego Rivera. It is the most important painters of our country and although classified as surrealist painter she said she did not paint dreams but the reality of her life Frida Kahlo died in 1954 in his blue house in Coyoacan.

Some of his works are:

The Bus 1929

In this colorful painting, the influence of Rivera's style of art is clear. Frida depicts the various classes of Mexican society and

daily life as Rivera does in his murals.

Frieda and Diego Rivera1931

This folkloric style double-portrait may have been based on their wedding photograph. It was completed about two years after their

marriage while Frida and Diego were in San Francisco.

Henry Ford Hospital(The Flying Bed)

1932On July 4th, 1932, Frida suffered a miscarriage in the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. In this disturbing work, Kahlo paints herself lying on her back in a hospital bed after a miscarriage. The figure in the painting is unclothed, the sheets beneath her are bloody, and a large tear falls from her left eye. The bed and its sad inhabitant float in an abstract space circled by six images relating to the miscarriage.

My Grandparents, My Parents and Me

1936 This is the first of two family portraits in which Frida was tracing the history of her ancestry. She appears as a little girl in the courtyard of

the Blue House in Coyoacan, Mexico, where she was born

Portrait of Diego Rivera1937

This is a portrait of Frida's husband, the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. At the time this portrait was painted

Diego was 51 years old. However, in this portrait he appears to be much younger. Also, Diego was tall, heavy and larger than

life. In this painting he appears much thinner.

Self Portrait with a Monkey1938

In Mexican mythology, the monkey is the patron of the dance, but also a symbol of lust. Here, however, the artist portrays the animal as a living, tender and soulful being with its arm placed protectively around her neck.

The Two Fridas1939

Shortly after her divorce from Diego Rivera, Frida completed this self-portrait of two different personalities. In her diary, Frida writes

that this painting originated from her memory of an imaginary childhood friend. Later she admitted it records the emotions

surrounding her separation and martial crisis.

Self Portrait withNecklace of Thorns

1940 In this painting, Frida paints herself in a frontal pose to enhance the

immediacy of her presence. She has unraveled Christ's crown of thorns and wears it as a necklace, presenting herself as a Christian martyr.

The thorns digging into her neck are symbolic of the pain she still feels over her divorce from Diego.

The Broken Column1944

This self-portrait is in sharp contrast to Frida's other self-portraits in that she is all alone… no monkeys, no cats, no parrots, and no background of protective leaves and plants. Instead, Frida stands all alone crying on a vast baron plain beneath a stormy sky. Perhaps it's her way of saying that she must deal with her physical and emotional pain on her own.

Without Hope1945

A lack of appetite resulting from her many surgeries and numerous illnesses, left Frida very thin. Her doctor, Dr Eloesser, prescribed complete bed rest and a fattening diet of puréed food every two hours. In this painting, the artist portrays what she considered to be a "forced feeding" diet.

Self Portrait1948

This is Frida's second self-portrait in which she appears wearing the traditional Tehuana headdress that Diego loved so much. In this portrait, the lace ruff closes off space and makes her look

trapped.

Portrait of Frida's Family(1950 -1954)

This painting was actually started sometime in the 1940s but never finished. Frida worked regularly on this family tree portrait during a long spell in the hospital in 1950 and continued to work on it until her death in 1954. When her older sister Matilde died in 1951, she stopped work on this painting and started working

on a new painting;

Self-Portrait with the Portrait of Doctor Farill

1951This painting is a portrait of Frida with her surgeon Doctor Juan Farill. This was her last signed self-portrait.

Still Life with Watermelons

1953Frida was painting these "still life" works during periods of pain. She was, for the most part, confined to her bed, very

sick and heavily medicated.

Viva la Vida, Watermelons

1954Most all Kahlo books agree that this is Frida's last painting and that 8 days before her death she added the inscription "Viva la Vida - Coyoacán 1954 Mexico". However, because of the quality

of this still life, I was never convinced that it was painted in 1954.

The house where Frida Kahlo lived and died

FRIDA AND DIEGOPHOTOS

SHE WAS A GREAT WOMAN.

WITH A GREAT SPIRIT.

LEAVING A GREAT LEGACY FOR MEXICO AND THE WORLD.

BYIVANNA ARELLANO REYES.