Frida Kahlo Essay

The fact that Kahlo is in the center of the painting does not suggest any common ground, but rather speaks, it would seem, of some internal struggle within Kahlo as she sees her nation influenced and perhaps destroyed by the United States. She is clearly

Frida Kahlo was a very talented Mexican artist that revolutionized art at a very young age. Her work is still idolized and celebrated today and is studied by many artists, institutes of higher education, museums, and fans. Kahlo was born in the town of Coyoacan, Mexico on July the sixth in the year of 1907 (Kettenmann 3). She made around 143 paintings, and out of those 143 paintings, 55 were self-portraits that included symbolism of her physical and emotion pain. Furthermore, in her portraits she used symbolism to express her wounds and sexuality. She use to say: “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality” (Fuentes 41). Her paintings style include of vibrant colors and was heavily influenced

the human eye. Visualize having the ability to completely free your imagination, letting your thoughts and desires wander to form exotic scenes or locations. These unfamiliar worlds lay deep inside of the brain as subconscious thoughts, usually undetected by the person with them in his or her possession. With the help of the intriguing art movement known as Surrealism, however, these subconscious thoughts are finally able to be brought to fruition. Surrealism is a unique style of art that originated in France with the help of brilliant writer André Breton (Chilvers 599). He defined surrealism and its principles as a “purely psychic automatism through which we undertake to express, in words, writing, or any other activity, the actual functioning of thought… Surrealism rests upon belief in the higher reality of specific forms of associations, previously neglected, in the omnipotence of dreams, and in the disinterested play of thinking” (Chilvers 599). He also strongly emphasized that its purpose was “to resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality” (Chilvers 599). Surrealism is a 20th century style of painting which rebels against traditional notions of art. In order to understand this genre, it is necessary to examine the movement’s characteristics, representative

Kahlo had endured over thirty operations to repair her body after the busing accident in which she was impaled through the hips by a metal rail. Kahlo is trying to communicate the loss of life and the continual pain that she endured throughout her life as a disabled woman. In the painting are various animals, such as hummingbird, cat, and monkey, which show her relationship to pain in the thorn necklace that she wear about her neck: “In this painting, Kahlo engages in a communication across human/animal/natural borders to convey her pain and loneliness” Smith and Watson, 2005, p.319). This aspect of Kahlo’s “communication:” of loneliness and suffering are a major part of the underlying meaning of this work, which reveals the long-term suffering a thorn necklace as part of this vision. In this manner, Kahlo intends to reveal her personal suffering through the surrealistic presentation of animals and natural objects in this

Frida Kahlo one of the most known female artist and a feminist icon, was born July 6, 1907 in Mexico. She was the husband of the famous artist, Diego River. Kahlo was mostly known for her self-portraits. Kahlo was paralyzed, due to polio as a child, and suffered many surgeries throughout her life, which inspired many of her paintings. Most of Kahlo’s paintings were about herself and her feelings. Which, most of them were surrounded about herself and her disability. Frida was a surrealism painter, but also did other painting techniques. A surrealist or surrealism painter is to focus on the exploration of dreams and unconsciousness as a form of reality, Sigmund Freud’s writings inspired this. Also, to find the true nature and pure thoughts of

The Mexican Artist Frida Kahlo is best known for her profound artwork and iconic likeness to the artist. She explores the ideas of gender, nationality, class, politics, etc. The emotional intensity and imaginative aspects of her artwork led many to label Frida as a surrealist. Although accepting this label, Frida distinguishly noted that her paintings are not of dream worlds, like other surrealists, but of her own reality. Frida Kahlo’s “The Broken Column” has influenced how I view myself and the world around me through its depiction of spiritual tranquility and physical anguish.

Kahlo carefully considers all elements of her work, including the colours used. This is evident in her choice of symbols to convey a very intricate meaning. In this particular painting the natural elements are heavily integrated into the composition; surrounding Kahlo are vines linking her to nature itself. Kahlo was unable to bear children and her link here to nature, especially with the presence of so many monkeys (a traditional symbol of fertility), may represent her desire to be a part of this aspect of nature. Fertility has a huge presence in this painting as the flower, the white of her shirt, and the lush green vines all symbolise health, fertility and purity, none of which Kahlo herself possessed. Through her symbolism Kahlo created meaning and added emphasis on particular aspects of her life. Critics have likened her tendency to do this to a method of self-creation rather than self-expression. She places herself within a scenario she wishes to be in or a person she recreates herself as, in this painting for example, she would be using her engulfment in fertility symbols as a way of showing herself as fertile. Either way, the painting speaks very strongly of Kahlo's link to motherhood, through the local, Mexican symbols.

In the painting she drew herself wearing his favorite Tehuana costume that her husband was obsessed with. The significance of the Tehuana shows us that the love created between her and her husband has molded her into adopting new traits in order to please him. This painting shows a darker and more sinister side of love, one that will mold and posse many people that just want to find love. The more insecure and emotionally drained people often tend to change their personality or human traits in order to “love” the right one. Kahlo’s self portrait does a great job in showcasing the negative affects a weak bond and a lot of love can do to one's mind.

Although the two self-portraits are depicted differently by each artist Frida Kahlo and Artemisia Gentileschi, in both portraits, there is a range of similarities and differences that make the work of the artist connected to one another, and the most memorable thing is how they have been able to achieve a long-lasting title as women who have transcended into outstanding painters in their time. The first artist I choose was Frida Kahlo, she would say, “I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration”(Google). The artwork of Kahlo was created from her own experiences in life, she had no hesitation to put all her thoughts and feelings into what she was painting.

Kahlo’s artwork was vastly different from Surrealist painters. Her fantasy was her way of coming to terms with reality not diving into the unconscious mind. Kahlo’s work was meant to affect viewers while exploring her own real life experiences and sensations. Her art was not something that was a product of European culture; instead her art had meaning that was accessible to her viewers.

She used a style that now known as surrealism, taking what she saw and knew and altering it. Surrealism gives art a sense of dream-like reality. Kahlo used this style to express her emotions and the pain she was going through, despite denying that her art was surrealism. Reality was the subject of her art, she used symbolism and altered reality to portray her feelings. Her art was a raw portrayal of life and Kahlo herself, not shying away from using graphic visuals at times to convey the message.

Her work is a mixture of pain and feminism, empowerment of women, and embracing hardships. Out of one hundred and forty-three paintings, fifty-five were self portraits. “I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best.” Kahlo claims. Each one is different, yet the same anguish is laid into the paint.

A variety of large green leaves illustrate the verdant lush vegetation and warm climate of Mexico. Kahlo’s skin is in orange color which stand against the cool colored greens and blues creates emphasis and contrast in the painting. It seems that Kahlo was emphasizing herself in the environment, her self-consciousness. Then, the text also states her hair style— she wear a bone necklace, and an elaborate hairstyle with a green ribbon. I believe on usually a person’s clothing and apparel just reveals the person’s cultural background.

By presenting all of these features in the piece at once, Kahlo portrays the concept that everything is linked in some aspect. As in many of her paintings, Frida Kahlo painted herself as the key subject in the piece. She lies on the cracked earth alone, but appears connected to everything around her. Color is used to create this sense of connection and harmony in the piece, as Kahlo’s dress echoes the tones of the desert surrounding her.

If we consider the art of Frida Kahlo, we cannot ignore her life which reflects into it at all times. A lover of her art is familiar to her expressive face- the monobrow and the slight moustache, long black hair, and her full lips.