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Marriage |
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As a young artist, Frida
Kahlo approached the Mexican painter, Diego Rivera, whom she
admired, asking advice on pursuing an career in art. He
recognized her talent and expression as unique. He supported
her artistic development and began an intimate relationship with her
and the two married in 1929.
The marriage was often
chaotic. Both Kahlo and Rivera had fiery personalities
and had numerous extramarital affairs. Kahlo had affairs with
both men and women. Rivera tolerated her affairs with women,
but her relationships with men made him very jealous. Kahlo
was furious when she discovered that her husband had an affair with
her younger sister. the couple then divorced, but remarried in
1940 and their second marriage mirrored their first. Their
living quarters were often separated but sometimes nearby. |
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Frida
Kahlo |
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Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico
as Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón. She
was born in the house of her parents La Casa Azul
(The Blue House). At age 6, Kahlo contracted
polio, leaving her right leg thinner that her left,
which she hid by wearing long, colorful skirts.
Kahlo was in a terrible vehicular accident on September
17, 1925, when a bus she was riding on collided with a
trolley car. As a result the injuries she suffered
included a broken spinal column, a broken clavicle,
broken ribs, a broken pelvis, eleven fractures in her
right leg, a crushed and dislocated right foot, and a
dislocated shoulder. Furthermore, and iron
handrail pierced her abdomen and her uterus, seriously
damaging her reproductive abilities. fortunately,
She regained her ability to walk, however, she
continually experienced relapses of immense pain for the
rest of her life. After the accident,
Kahlo devoted her attention to a full time painting
career. She painted to occupy her time during her
recovery, while in a full body cast. Drawing on
personal experiences including her marriage,
miscarriages, and her many operations, allows her work
to be characterized by harsh depictions of pain.
She painted 55 self-portraits which incorporate symbolic
representations of her sexuality and physical and
psychological wounds stating, "I never painted dreams.
I painted my own reality. It is evident that Kahlo
was inspired by Mexican culture through her use of
bright colors and dramatic symbolism. Her
combination of elements of classic Mexican religious
tradition with surrealist renderings makes her paintings
very unique. A few days before her death on July
13, 1954, Kahlo wrote in her diary: I hope the
exit is joyful - and I hope never to return - Frida." |
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