Diego Rivera Prints

Frida Kahlo Biography (1907-1954) - Revealed through Self Portraits

Reading a Frida Kahlo biography is like riding a roller coaster, or watching a soap opera. The ups and downs of her life are phenomenal. Frida had a bout of polio at an early age, a crippling accident with a trolley car in her teens, marriage, divorce and remarriage to the same man, and countless romantic trysts with both genders. Let us not forget her heartbreaking miscarriages. Nevertheless, Frida Kahlo was able to lead a life that produced a worthy legacy – magnificent paintings that are still topics of discussion today.

The Beginning
Frida started painting in her early years, and many of her pieces were gifts to relatives. One particularly notable still life entitled ‘Tray with Poppies,’ a present to her aunt, is a beautiful display of buds and flowers in bloom. Deemed to have been painted around her 18th year, this piece in muted colors shows a remarkable eye for lifelike quality and arrangement.

Self Portraits of a Hard Life
Frida’s tragic accident left her not only in a state of emotional debilitation, but also physically challenged. Life would never be the same. She would suffer from her injuries for the rest of her life. Frida decided to give up her studies in medicine to become a painter. In 1926, during her rehabilitation period, she created one of the first of numerous self portraits, all of which were shaped to reveal her arduous life. With the use of symbolism, her bright-coloured canvas often expressed her physical and emotional pain. She presented herself in various states of trauma, “painting her own reality.” Frida once stated, “I paint myself because I am often alone, and I am the subject I know best.”

Another self portrait was created in 1930, after she had married Diego Rivera. Once again, she portrayed herself as a stern-looking woman, but due to a change in her style of painting, she reinvented herself, wearing a traditional Mexican dress and earrings. Gone was the throwback look of the Renaissance period; her work would now possess folk art aspects in muted colors.

Frida and Diego Rivera Portrait
Most likely as a celebration of her marriage to Diego, that is, the first one, Frida painted a folksy image of herself holding hands with Diego. Frida wears a simple Mexican dress with a red shawl. Again no significant expression of happiness appears on the couple’s faces.

A Frida Kahlo biography does not only depict a woman’s agonizing personal life, but also tells of this artist’s unacknowledged career while existing in the shadow of Diego. Much of Frida’s work during her lifetime was not to be displayed in a gallery, but to be given as gifts to those who had helped Diego get his U.S. entry visa. Her paintings at the time were not considered national treasures, but only gained the public’s attention and admiration through the years.

Also read about the Frida Movie (2002).