Being born with a death mask is a weird concept. The artist Frida Kahlo made Niña con máscara de Calavera (girl with a death mask) in 1938. The painting was gifted to her friend Dolores del Rio, but right now it's on display at the Nagoya city art museum in Japan. The girl is wearing a day of the dead mask and standing next to a tiger mask in an open field. The artist Frida Kahlo made the painting “girl with a death mask” to mourn the death of her baby that she lost due to a miscarriage.
Kahlo uses different colors in her painting to represent many aspects. For example, The pink in the little girl's clothes shows the innocence of the child and the white of the mask she is wearings shows her purity. The pink and the white are significant to her because painting this girl, her little girl in those colors is a way for her to heal. Even though the painting has a sad meaning the colors that were used are light and bright. The tiger mask next to the girl's feet even though it is all bloody still has a light concept to it. Frida added these light colors to her painting to show that death doesn't always have to be dark. Kahlo also added some pops of colors in her painting such as the pop of blue in the mountains in the background and also the pops of blue that peek out from behind the clouds. She did this to show that death doesn't always have to be so dark, there are some bright elements to it.
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Kahlo uses space and where things are placed in her painting strategically to help her heal and mourn the death of her baby. The girl with the day of the dead mask and the tiger mask next to her is in the foreground of the painting. Everything that you look at leads right back to the little girl and the mask they are the most important parts it is what Kahlo wants you to focus on the most. Also, the way the tiger mask is placed at the feet of the little girl. In Mexican culture, they heavily believe in life after death and the tiger mask is used as a talisman to protect the child against evil as she passes through. In this painting, there is a vast amount of open space that it almost feels like it can go on for miles. The way the field was painted looks like there is so much more to it. Kahlo did this to show that there is so much more to death than just dying, death can be a loss of life and a gain of life depending on the way death is perceived.
Marigolds are used during Dias de Los Muertos. They are called the flower of the dead and are offered at a grave to guide the spirits of the dead to their alter. In Mexican culture, they believe that the spirits come to visit the living on the day of the dead so the flower's bright color and scent help them find their way. Frida has the little girl hold the flower to represent the offering that was used to guide her to her alter. Having the flower be held by the girl is impactful to the overall meaning of why Kahlo painted this because it shows that during the day of the dead her baby found her way to her alter that Kahlo had set out for her. This is in the middle of the painting because the flower maybe is small but the meaning of it is really big and it is one of the most important things that Kahlo painted for her baby.
Girl with a death mask was painted by Frida Kahlo in 1938 in remembrance of the baby she lost due to a miscarriage. There are so many things in this painting that are a play on the day of the dead, she did this to honor the baby that was lost but also for her to remember that the baby's spirit is always going to be there. This image is important to me because I believe in spirits and life after death. My aunt lost her baby, not by a miscarriage but by stillbirth which is when a baby is born without any signs of life. That was a really hard thing for her to go through but I believe that his spirit is with her every day.
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Frida Kahlo Thinking about Death.
(2022, December 27). Edubirdie. Retrieved November 2, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/frida-kahlo-thinking-about-death/
“Frida Kahlo Thinking about Death.” Edubirdie, 27 Dec. 2022, edubirdie.com/examples/frida-kahlo-thinking-about-death/
Frida Kahlo Thinking about Death. [online].
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Frida Kahlo Thinking about Death [Internet]. Edubirdie.
2022 Dec 27 [cited 2024 Nov 2].
Available from: https://edubirdie.com/examples/frida-kahlo-thinking-about-death/
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