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Frida Kahlo

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Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo was born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon in Coyoacan, Mexico, July 6th, 1907. She was one of four daughters and was born to a Hungarian-Jewish father and mother of Spanish and Mexican Indian decent. In her first years she had never even thought of becoming an artist. At the age of 18 she was seriously injured in a bus accident. She spent over a year in bed recovering from fractures to her spine, collarbone, and ribs, a shattered pelvis, and shoulder and foot injuries. She endured more than 30 operations in her lifetime. During her recovery she began to paint. Her mom had made a special easel for her to use and her father gave her his oil paints and brushes.

At the young age of 22 she married a famous Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera, who happened to be 20 years her elder. Their relationship survived through infidelities, the pressure of careers, divorce, remarriage, Frida's bisexual affairs, her poor health, and her inability to have children. As an example of her problems and pain she once said, "I suffered two grave accidents in my life...one in which a streetcar knocked me down, and the other was Diego.

Frida created around 200 paintings related both to her emotional pain and to her relationship with Diego. Out of the 200 paintings and drawings, 55 of them were self-portraits. Her self-portraits and still life were very naïve and filled with colors and forms of Mexican culture. In most of her self-portraits she expresses her pain and emotion in each stroke of her brush. Frida was very true to her Mexican heritage, but in some cases she would make an exception for instance in Mexican Mythology monkeys are symbols of lust, but Frida portrayed them as a tender and protective symbol. She was deeply influenced by her Mexican culture, which is shown in many of her most famous paintings.

One day someone had asked her what she wanted to have done with her body when she died. Her response was "Burn it.... I don't want to be buried. I've spent too much time in my life lying down.... just burn it." On July 13, 1954 Frida Kahlo died of a pulmonary embolism although some suspect it was an overdose. When they were trying to carry out her final wish, something unusual happened. In the beginning of her cremation the heat from the incinerator caused her body to sit upright. Her hair had caught fire, with yellow flames blazing around her head like a golden halo.
Then, just as the doors began to close, her lips broke into a seductive grin. Strangely, her last diary entry was "I hope the end is joyful. And I hope never to return." Sincerely, Frida Kahlo.

In all of Frida Kahlo's life, there is one painting I find most interesting for its originality, technique, and the spirit within it. My favorite painting of Frida Kahlos is Moses. Frida started this painting after she had read an essay by Sigmund Freud that had made a connection between Ancient Egyptian beliefs, Moses and the monotheistic religion. In this painting the art is obviously divided into four sections one of them being gods, another being prophets and leaders, third being fertility, and the last being civilization. The child in my view gives a since of life and of choice. By choice I mean the child in the middle seems to be saying which road shall I choose to live? I also notice that there is an eye on the young child's (wrapped in cloth) forehead meaning the eye of wisdom. In some religions the sun is known as the center of the universe, hinting that the child wrapped in the cloth is important to the fertility of women and is the center of mankind.

I believe that Frida was a true inspiration to female artists around the globe and that all she really was trying to do in her life time of art was tell the world that she was there she existed and she won't be forgotten not now not ever. She made sure that she would be on top when she was on the bottom. She relates to me in many ways she is a still life artist and she draws exactly what is in front of her and makes the art true to her heart.

By
Jessica Smith
GATE Art Class
2013

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