Life and Art of Mexican Artist, Frida Kahlo

Frida Khalo was born in Mexico City, has a young woman she was in a bus accident causing her to have life long injuries and pain. The time spent bedridden recovering, allowed her to develop her painting skill. Khalo had deep connection to her culture and heritage using symbols within her work. In 1928 Khalo married Diego Rivera a fellow artist their relationship was turbulent. Diego cheated on her with many other women that effect Khalo and her Art. Due to her injuries, Khalo could never carry a child to full term, this was

Both of these paintings show the love and desire to hold on to ones heritage and family traditions which is extremely important in Hispanic families. Both with vivid colors and images. In Kahlo’s “Self Portrait on the Border Line Between Mexico and the United States”, even though she is a Mexican woman living in a non-Mexican country, she is able to accept both sides and hold on to her own Mexican heritage and culture which it seems she preferred. In Garza’s “Camas Para Sueños”(Beds for Dreams), Garza is showing the love and closeness she had with her sister and how her mother allowed them to dream and reach after those dreams as they kept

During their travel the street car they were riding in was hit by a bus and a steel handrail went straight through her hip, fracturing her pelvis and spine. She endured a long painful recovery and coped by painting. Frida said “I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best.” After painting a few pieces she met back up with Diego to view her work. They clicked immediately and go married only a year later. They had a very rough relationship. They would travel around everywhere and Diego would have affairs which left Frida heartbroken, but she always stayed. Due to her fractured pelvis she was unable to have children and encountered 2 miscarriages which killed her emotionally. (Frida Kahlo Biography 2)

Afterwards they move to Cuernavaca where Frida paints “Time Flies”, a self-portrait that expresses Diego´s artistic influence on her, she found her signature style, which is folk Mexican, similar to Diego´s mural style.

They had two daughters, Lupe and Ruth, who were born in 1924 and 1926 (Hamill 92). Frida’s mother did not agree to the marriage because Rivera was not young enough, he was overweight, and he did not believe in God (“Chronology” 6-7). On the other hand, Frida’s father was more accepting because he knew Rivera could financially support Frida’s health care requirements (“Chronology” 7). Frida had sustained severe injuries in a bus accident when she was 18 (Krull 85), thus, she had dozens of surgeries to alleviate the pain (Krull 85). Often confined to bed, Frida could not paint for over an hour in a continuous period of time (Krull 85).

During the 1930’s and 1940’s, women of the world held virtually one role and one role only…homemaker. This was no different for the women of Mexico, except for one woman in particular, Frida Kahlo. Frida refused to accept the current ideals of society and the accepted social norms by engaging in things that few women in history ever had. Frida was involved in politics, she was promiscuous with men and women, she painted pictures of herself in ways that had never been done before, and she wore the clothes of her indigenous people as opposed to the current fashions of the world. The movie Frida showcases all of these qualities. The director, Julie Taymor, uses the symbolism of these things to show how Frida

1. Frida Kahlo is one not only Mexico's most iconic artists, but one of the world's most iconic artists as well. She was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyocoan Mexico City, Mexico. Her father was of German descent and migrated to Mexico where he met her mother, who was half Spanish and half AmerIndian. She also had three sisters. Frida was always very close to her father, and was very proud of her Mexican heritage. During her childhood, she contracted a disease called Polio. She was very ill and had to stay in bed for a whole 9 months. The disease caused her right leg to become much skinnier and weaker than the left one. She had a permanent limp because of it and always wore long skirts to hide it. She met her future husband, Diego Rivera, when she was in preparatory school. One day in 1922, she was on a Bus and got in a horrific accident. She was severely injured, as a steel rail impaled her through the hip. During her period of recovery is when she began to paint her famous self-portraits. Frida and Diego reconnected in 1928 and them married in 1929. Their marriage, however, wasn't a healthy one. Diego cheated on Frida many times and they lived in separate houses. Frida, given her condition was always very depressed. She sadly passed away in 1954. Her death was reported to be caused by a pulmonary embolism, but many suspect her death may not have been accidental.

One of my most favorite artists is the Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo. She was born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon in Coyoacan, Mexico, July 6, 1907 and died July 13, 1954. She was one of four daughters born to a Hungarian-Jewish father and a mother of Spanish and Mexican Indian descent. Frida Kahlo is the most famous Mexican woman artist on the contemporary art scene. In 1922, Kahlo hung out with a group of politically and intellectually like-minded students. The Mexican mural movement begins. Frida first learns of Diego Rivera, who is painting his mural "Creation" at the school 's lecture hall. Kahlo becoming a painter, was not a part of Frida 's career goals. Her goal in life was to become a doctor but a tragic accident at age 18 left her mentally and physically scared for life. It changed the course of her life forever. It was during her months of convalescence that Frida began to take painting seriously…"to combat the boredom and pain". she said. "I felt I still had enough energy to do something other than studying to become a doctor. Without giving it any particular thought, I started painting." It was the beginning of a life-long career for Frida.

Frida came to Diego one day and asked him to see her painting and upon him noticing her talent he would stay close to her. Frida never having anyone support or be there for her fell madly in love with Diego Rivera, a known painter for his work during the Mexican mural movement. Despite her parents disapproval the two would get married and live together for a long time. Frida before finding out about his secrete affaires, would paint portraits such as " Diego on my Mind" which when analyzing one can see how obsess she had become for her lover Diego. In this particular portrait Frida is wearing the traditional Tehuana costume that Diego greatly admired and loved, while wearing leaves as a crown and Diego's head of her forehead. She wore the Tehuana costume to entice Diego closer to her and when paying close attention one can see that the roots of the leaves make a sort of spider-web in which one can only assume she will catch and hold her lover in. There is no doubt that Frida was obsess with Diego and nothing would take him out of her mind, not even when he was known as a

”Image in a self portrait generally communicates to the viewer information about the identity, character, environment, feelings and interests of the artist.” In the case if “Between the Borderline of Mexico and The United States” Frida Kahlo expresses her feeling that she holds towards hr alien environment, and her cultural identity. This will now be proven through analyzing the portrait to prove the above quote.

Throughout her career, Frida had shown many different themes of her life through her paintings. It seems clear, through analyzation of her paintings, that Frida lived something of a double life. Frida paints herself in distinctly different ways at times, sometimes she is a beautiful woman with strength like iron, and sometimes she is a frail damsel who has been broken already and will be broken again. Contrasting paintings include Self Portrait with Monkeys (Kahlo, 1) and Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace, Diego and I (Kahlo, 1) and The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Me, Diego, and Mr. Xolotl (Kahlo, 1). All of these paintings show that not only is there a contrast in her personality, in fact, Frida’s is actually two different people, as she paints it.

Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderon, also known as Frida Kahlo, was born on July 6th, 1907 in the beautiful town of Coyoacan Mexico City, Mexico. The residence that her father built in 1904 was named the Casa Azul (Blue House), and it was adorned with blue washed walls that added a U-shaped form to the room. In the house there were high elevated windows that were placed all around, and in the center was a lovely garden filled with subtropical plants; which is where her childhood took place. At a young age Kahlo was diseased with polio which led to horrible pain that made it unbearable for her to even get up from bed for several months, leaving her with a deformed left leg. Although Kahlo was suffering

Throughout Frida’s journey and development as an artist, she beings an adventurous yet dysfunctional relationship with the famous muralist Diego Riviera. Riviera’s political battles also correlate with many of the discussions in our culture Spanish course. Throughout the film, Riviera expressed his views as a communist which shaped his political views and paintings. His mural at Rockefeller Center was removed due to its communist theme/message. He was fighting for his paintings to be shown and celebrated among society by representing his

Frida was not only talented but she was also very intelligent. In 1922 she was one of only thirty-five female students to attend the most prestigious preparatory school in Mexico, Escuela Nacional Preparatoria or The National Preparatory School. While Frida read in three different languages and aspired to be a doctor she was a spirited and rambunctious student who ran with a gang of troublesome boys who called themselves "Los Cachuchas". The gang pulled pranks and got into all sorts of trouble, at one point she and her friends even lead a donkey into one of the rooms while class was in session. (Kettenman p. 11-12). It was at this school where Frida first met her future husband and life-long companion, Diego Rivera.

Rivera and Kahlo's relationship had begun with art, and continued to grow with art. Frida produced more paintings during their marriage than ever. Frida followed Rivera, experimenting with murals as well. However, Diego Rivera continued to encourage Frida, telling her that it would be best if she