Frida Khalo, A Mexican Icon
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon best known as Frida Khalo was born on July 6, 1907, in the house of her parents, well known as The Blue House. Coyoacan at the time was a small town on the outskirts of Mexico City. Frida’s father, Guillermo Kahlo was a German immigrant. Her mother, Matilde Calderon y Gonzalez, was of Spanish descent. Frida's parents were married shortly after the passing of Guillermo's first wife during the birth of her second child. Guillermo and Matilde’s marriage were an unhappy one, despite that they had four daughters, Frida being the third.
Kahlo was faced with many challenges from an early age. When she was six, she contracted polio which left her right leg slimmer than her left and she covered them by wearing long skirts. It was said that she was diagnosed with spina bifida, a disease that can affect bother her legs and spinal development.
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Kahlo turned her attention away from the study of medicine after her bus accident at the age of 18 to begin her full-time painting career. The accident caused her a great deal of pain as she recovered in a full body cast, she spent this time painting to occupy her during her temporary state of immobilization. Her self-portraits became a dominant part of her life when she was immobile for three months after her accident. Kahlo said, 'I paint myself because I am often alone, and I am the subject I know best. Both her parents were supportive during this difficult time, her mother brought her a special easel made so she can paint in bed, while her father lent her some brushes and a box of oil paints that he owned.
Frida’s brilliant works of art were inspired by her own life challenges and suffering, drawn from personal experiences, including her marriage and divorce, her miscarriages, and the multiple operations she underwent, her works are often distinguished by their striking portrayals of pain. 55 of her artworks out of her 143 paintings were self-portraits that often included symbolic portrayals of physical and psychological wounds. She insisted, 'I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality. At the begging of her career, her paintings weren’t paid attention much to because of the obsession she carried for self-portraits, yet that didn’t matter to her in the least as long as it brought her peace as she claims that she painted for herself only and no one else.
[image: Image result for a self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird]Kahlo approached famous Mexican painter and muralist, Diego Rivera as she admired his work and needed his advice and opinion on her work. Rivera had an eye for Kahlo’s work and the talent she had and the unique way of self-expression through her work and became interested in the artist. They got married in 1929, yet it was an unsuccessful marriage followed by affairs from both sides resulting in their divorce. The couple remarried in 1940, another vain marriage.
Frida Kahlo died on July 13, 1954. It was said that the official cause of death was given as pulmonary embolism, but some suspected that she died from an overdose that may or may not have been accidental.
In 1940, Kahlo paints a self-portrait of herself named Autorretrato con Collar de Espinas, staring back directly at the audience as she wears a thorn necklace around her neck in the imagery of self-imposed pain, a dead hummingbird symbolizes love hangs from the necklace, meanwhile, evil omens of the black cat and the lustful spider monkey lurk around her shoulders. Kahlo's identification with indigenous Mexican culture greatly affected her painting aesthetic. By using powerful iconography from indigenous Mexican culture, Kahlo situates herself in a tradition of rebellion against colonial forces and male rule. The dead hummingbird hanging from the necklace is considered a good luck charm in Mexican folklore for falling in love. The spider monkey is a symbol of evil, having painted it to emphasize the pain she went through after her divorce from Rivera since he has gifted her with a spider monkey. This self-portrait is one of Kahlo’s many paintings to stand as evidence of the struggles she had been through, yet this specific painting showcases both her mental and physical pain.
In many cultures, women speaking of their trouble and challenges aren’t encouraged, there’s a set of expectations that we should be collected and calm about our hardships even if they cause us a great amount of suffering. Divorce especially is frowned upon, it’s a women’s last resort, well knowing that she’s going to be shamed or looked down on or that people who don’t even know her will blame her as the reason for the divorce. In Autorretrato con Collar de Espinas, Kahlo freely expresses her anguish and pain and makes it clear to the viewers what kind of state she’s in, it’s fascinating to see how a woman be so vulnerable about her personal life to the public; something that is never likely to happen is a culture like ours. To have a voice, to express pain, and to portray it on such canvas as Kahlo did is considered taboo and if a female takes that route she’s criticized or shamed for it, never likely to be supported even by her own gender.
To see a woman so brave and strong is very inspiring to me. The idea of being ourselves and not caring about the opinion of others isn’t what women or females are encouraged to do yet Kahlo was an artist that embraced her self-image so gracefully and beautifully and raw. She embraces everything that made her Frida, her colorful Mexican culture and celebrates her roots in her paintings, women's issues and their pain, her physical appearance that has inspired many women not to be ashamed of their flaws, breaking gender roles, and lastly she was a women whom her country became proud of and honored to have her paintings hung in museums around the world because she was simply being herself. To know that we’re not alone is reassuring and hopeful and always a sign towards a better change for women who are going through similar situations.
References
- An Introduction To Frida Kahlo In 9 Artworks Lauren Cocking - https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/an-introduction-to-frida-kahlo-in-9-artworks/
- Biography Of Frida Kahlo https://www.frida-kahlo-foundation.org/biography.html
- Art History: The Stories and Symbolism Behind 5 Of Frida Kahlo's Most Well-known Paintings Dropcloth Samplers - Shovava - https://mymodernmet.com/frida-kahlo-paintings/
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