The work of the 'Two Fridas' is inordinately symbolic of her life, and the times of hardships and struggles she experienced. The surrealist work was painted in 1939 and is the largest scale work Kahlo had created.
This work is an oil painting on canvas, 173 by 173cm. It is a symbolic piece; and Kahlo has clearly used the technique of symbolism, to convey the message of duality. She painted this like most of her pieces with a force of personality. Her painting style is reminiscent of traditional Mexican art. She also employed the technique of juxtaposition like many surrealists to represent two opposing ideas. Kahlo also employed the technique of using a blended surface intending to show detail by utilizing a fine brush.
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This double self-portrait is one of Kahlo’s most recognized compositions and is symbolic of the artist’s emotional pain experienced during her divorce from Rivera. It exemplifies contradictory ideas, using the two opposing Kahlos. The painting shows two versions of the artist sitting side by side, with both of their hearts exposed, capturing her emotional turmoil. The left-hand figure, demure and traditionally dressed, has been physically ripped apart and exposes a broken and bleeding heart. Meanwhile, the Frida on the right, a smartly dressed cosmopolitan woman, seems to be gaining strength at the other Frida’s expense. These figures are believed to represent “unloved” and “loved” versions of Kahlo due to the adversity encountered with Diego. The two contrasting Kahlo's also represent the different beliefs she developed during her marriage with Rivera. Throughout their marriage, given Rivera’s strong nationalism, Kahlo became increasingly interested in indigenous and would explore the traditional Mexican costume, which she wears on the right. It is this Mexican Kahlo that holds a locket with an image of Rivera. Representing the loving side, and the other being unloved. It can be concluded that Kahlo through this work wanted to define the deep pain she felt resulting from the end of a complicated relationship with Diego. It was full of problems and emotional wounds; this pictured the left of Frida’s heart which is destroyed, completely broken, expressing that a part of her has died. The symbolic element of blood expresses multiple layers of meaning in Kahlo's pictures; the recurrent theme of blood represents both metaphysical and physical suffering.
Kahlo herself never categorized her style, in fact, Andrea Breton who was a great admirer and a surrealist tried to convince her that she was a surrealist artist. Her husband on the other hand believed she was a realist. The element of her work that suggests she is a surrealist is the use of themes in a symbolic manner. Her thoughts and desires were painted in a way that expressed the tragedy of her life. She was able to express her innermost thoughts and feelings. The surrealist movement had a great interest in psychology. Kahlo’s work resonates with the classical and visionary elements of surrealism. Classical in that it was deliberate, depicted unconscious thoughts and was visionary as she used her life experiences in order to create her work. Breton defined surrealism as “a form of art that tries to discover the large reality, liberating the unconscious from repression, dreams, desires, and thoughts to freely explore the unconscious.” It could be said that this is in fact describing Kahlo’s work.
Kahlo used linear perspective, putting the vanishing point in the union of the hands of both Frida’s, in this way the center of the work is the ambivalence that a person can have, in this portrait it is herself, but at the same time these two different parts are deeply united. The two Frida’s are symmetrically placed, giving neither one any more importance over the other. This choice of composition assists with the idea that both Kahlo’s hearts are exposed perhaps symbolizing that they are one person through the vein connecting them both.
Colour is very cleverly used to express the meaning and emotion of this piece. Colour is evident in the depiction of the two Frida’s. One is painted in white which represents her European side and the other is shown in color to portray her Mexican side. This colorful Frida was more pleasing to her husband. The use of color directly expresses the emotional pain of her divorce. The background use of color, depicting a stormy sky filled with clouds, also reflected Frida’s ‘inner turmoil.’ The stormy grey clouds also create a sense of drama. The different use of color for each Kahlo acts as symbolism, to juxtapose one to the other. The use of warmer colors with the Frida’s allows these figures to advance toward the viewer, creating depth through the use of color. Finally, the strong use of blood through the bold color of red represents pain and suffering, with the strong comparison of the red staining the white. This also creates a contrast between the two colors, symbolizing how one Frida is a stained woman.
Apart from being one of Kahlo’s most famous works, it is also her largest. The scale of the piece certainly adds to its symbolic nature. It is large in size to create a greater impact of emotion on the audience. Her feelings and emotions in this piece are larger than life. She wanted the scale to represent how she felt and as a way of realizing her feelings.
In this painting, the background of grey tones in the clouds represents confusion and disruption. The two Frida’s are then placed in the foreground to show differentiation between them. Colour is used to create a sense of depth and space. The warmer tones used on the Frida’s advance them towards the viewer, creating depth. The depth is assisted by the line of the bench. This seat creates perspective which in turn creates depth.
This work is strongly marked by line, tone, texture, and form. Line, in that we are immediately drawn to the two Frida’s. The figures are not drawn flat, and the use of tone and texture is obvious in the clothing, sky, and floor. The hearts are however flat, creating an atmosphere of disruption and pain present. The mood is angry, sad, and heartbroken. The feelings she was experiencing at the time. The line, tone, texture, and form also create a sense of loneliness, yet the twin-like Frida’s offer one another comfort. They contribute to the piece by suggesting feelings and emotions such as lonely but not isolated, broken but beautiful, humiliated but proud.
Kahlo through the use of surrealism expressed her own experiences but unlike other surrealists she did not paint her dreams, she only painted her own reality. Kahlo wanted to tell the world how she felt, and she did this through her work. As she once said “I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality.” In this piece she paints her divorce, communicating to the audience the emotional crisis which resulted. This work symbolizes the two parts of herself. The woman she was and the one she is now. There is no doubt she was an exceptional artist who was able to express emotion in her work like none other.
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