Frida Kahlo biography. Frida Kahlo – biography and paintings of the artist in the genre of Primitivism, Surrealism – Art Challenge
Attempts to tell about this extraordinary woman have been made more than once - voluminous novels, multi-page studies have been written about her, opera and dramatic performances have been staged, feature films and documentaries have been made. But no one managed to unravel and, most importantly, reflect the mystery of her magical attractiveness and amazingly sensual femininity. This post is also one of such attempts, illustrated quite rare photographs great Frida!
FRIDA KALO
Frida Kahlo was born in Mexico City in 1907. She is the third daughter of Gulermo and Matilda Kahlo. Father is a photographer, Jewish by origin, originally from Germany. Mother is Spanish, born in America. Frida Kahlo contracted polio at the age of 6, which left her with a limp. “Frida has a wooden leg,” her peers cruelly teased her. And she, in defiance of everyone, swam, played football with the boys and even took up boxing.
Two-year-old Frida 1909. The picture was taken by her father!
Little Frida 1911.
Yellowed photographs are like milestones of fate. The unknown photographer who “clicked” Diego and Frida on May 1, 1924, hardly thought that his photograph would become the first line of their common biography. He captured Diego Rivera, already famous for his powerful “popular” frescoes and freedom-loving views, at the head of a column of the union of revolutionary artists, sculptures and graphic artists in front of the National Palace in Mexico City.
Next to the huge Rivera, little Frida with a determined face and bravely raised fists looks like a fragile girl.
Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo at the May Day demonstration in 1929 (photo by Tina Modotti)
On that May day, Diego and Frida, united by common ideals, stepped into future life- to never be separated. Despite the enormous trials that fate threw at them every now and then.
In 1925, the eighteen-year-old girl suffered a new blow of fate. On September 17, at an intersection near the San Juan market, a tram crashed into the bus in which Frida was traveling. One of the iron fragments of the carriage pierced Frida right through at the level of the pelvis and exited through the vagina. “That’s how I lost my virginity,” she said. After the accident, she was told that she was found completely naked - all her clothes were torn off. Someone on the bus was carrying a bag of dry gold paint. It tore, and golden powder covered Frida's bloody body. And a piece of iron protruded from this golden body.
Her spine was broken in three places, her collarbones and ribs were broken. pelvic bones. The right leg is broken in eleven places, the foot is crushed. For a whole month, Frida lay on her back, encased in plaster from head to toe. “A miracle saved me,” she told Diego. “Because at night in the hospital death danced around my bed.”
For another two years she was wrapped in a special orthopedic corset. The first entry she managed to make in her diary: “ Good: I'm starting to get used to suffering.". In order not to go crazy from pain and melancholy, the girl decided to draw. Her parents put together a special stretcher for her so that she could draw while lying down, and attached a mirror to it so that she would have someone to draw. Frida could not move. Drawing fascinated her so much that one day she confessed to her mother: “I have something to live for. For the sake of painting."
Frida Kahlo in a men's suit. We are used to seeing Frida in Mexican blouses and colorful skirts, but she loved to wear men's clothing. Bisexuality from her youth encouraged Frida to dress up in men's costumes.
Frida in a man's suit (center) with sisters Adriana and Cristina, as well as cousins Carmen and Carlos Verasa, 1926.
Frida Kahlo and Chavela Vargas with whom Frida had a connection and quite a non-spiritual one, 1945
After the artist’s death, more than 800 photographs remained, and some of them show Frida naked! She really enjoyed posing nude, and being photographed in general, the daughter of a photographer. Below are nude photos of Frida:
At the age of 22, Frida Kahlo entered the most prestigious institute in Mexico (national preparatory school). Out of 1000 students, only 35 girls were accepted. There Frida Kahlo meets her future husband Diego Rivera, who has just returned home from France.
Every day Diego became more and more attached to this small, fragile girl - so talented, so strong. On August 21, 1929 they got married. She was twenty-two years old, he was forty-two.
Wedding photograph taken on August 12, 1929, in the studio of Reyes de Coyaocan. She is sitting, he is standing (probably, in every family album there are similar photographs, only this one shows a woman who survived a terrible car accident. But you wouldn’t guess about it). She is wearing her favorite national Indian dress with a shawl. He is wearing a jacket and tie.
On the wedding day, Diego showed his explosive temper. The 42-year-old newlywed drank a little too much tequila and began firing a pistol into the air. The exhortations only inflamed the wild artist. The first family scandal occurred. The 22-year-old wife went to her parents. After waking up, Diego asked for forgiveness and was forgiven. The newlyweds moved into their first apartment, and then into the now famous “blue house” on Londres Street in Coyaocan, the most “bohemian” area of Mexico City, where they lived for many years.
A romantic aura surrounds Frida’s relationship with Trotsky. The Mexican artist admired the “tribune of the Russian revolution”, was very upset about his expulsion from the USSR and was happy that, thanks to Diego Rivera, he found shelter in Mexico City.
In January 1937, Leon Trotsky and his wife Natalya Sedova went ashore in the Mexican port of Tampico. They were met by Frida - Diego was then in the hospital.
The artist brought the exiles to her “blue house”, where they finally found peace and quiet. Bright, interesting, charming Frida (after a few minutes of communication no one noticed her painful injuries) instantly captivated the guests.
The almost 60-year-old revolutionary was carried away like a boy. He tried in every possible way to express his tenderness. Sometimes he touched her hand as if by chance, sometimes he secretly touched her knee under the table. He wrote passionate notes and, putting them in a book, handed them over right in front of his wife and Rivera. Natalya Sedova guessed about the love affair, but Diego, they say, never found out about it. “I’m very tired of the old man,” Frida allegedly said one day in a circle of close friends and broke off the short romance.
There is another version of this story. The young Trotskyist allegedly could not resist the pressure of the tribune of the revolution. Their secret meeting took place in the country estate of San Miguel Regla, 130 kilometers from Mexico City. However, Sedova kept a vigilant eye on her husband: the affair was nipped in the bud. Begging his wife for forgiveness, Trotsky called himself “her old faithful dog.” After this, the exiles left the “blue house”.
But these are rumors. There is no evidence of this romantic connection.
ABOUT love affair Frida and the Catalan artist Jose Bartley are known a little more:
“I don't know how to write love letters. But I want to say that my whole being is open to you. Since I fell in love with you, everything has been mixed up and filled with beauty... love is like a scent, like a current, like rain.”, wrote Frida Kahlo in 1946 in her address to Bartoli, who moved to New York to escape the horrors civil war in Spain.
Frida Kahlo and Bartoli met while she was recovering from another spinal operation. Returning to Mexico, she left Bartoli, but their secret romance continued at a distance. The correspondence lasted for several years, affecting the artist’s painting, her health and relationship with her husband.
Twenty-five love letters written between August 1946 and November 1949 will be the top lots at Doyle New York auction house. Bartoli kept more than 100 pages of correspondence until his death in 1995, then the correspondence passed into the hands of his family. Bid organizers expect proceeds of up to $120,000.
Even though they lived in different cities and saw each other extremely rarely, the relationship between the artists continued for three years. They exchanged sincere declarations of love, hidden in sensual and poetic works. Frida wrote the double self-portrait “Tree of Hope” after one of her meetings with Bartoli.
“Bartoli - - last night I felt as if many wings were caressing me all over, as if the tips of my fingers became lips that kissed my skin”, Kahlo wrote on August 29, 1946. “The atoms of my body are yours and they vibrate together, that’s how much we love each other. I want to live and be strong, to love you with all the tenderness you deserve, to give you everything that is good in me, so that you don’t feel alone.”
Hayden Herrera, Frida's biographer, notes in her essay for Doyle New York that Kahlo signed her letters to Bartoli "Maara". This is probably a shortened version of the nickname "Maravillosa". And Bartoli wrote to her under the name “Sonia”. This conspiracy was an attempt to avoid Diego Rivera's jealousy.
According to rumors, among other affairs, the artist was in a relationship with Isamu Noguchi and Josephine Baker. Rivera, who endlessly and openly cheated on his wife, turned a blind eye to her entertainment with women, but reacted violently to relationships with men.
Frida Kahlo's letters to José Bartoli have never been published. They reveal new information about one of the most important artists of the 20th century.
Frida Kahlo loved life. This love magnetically attracted men and women to her. Excruciating physical suffering and a damaged spine were constant reminders. But she found the strength to have fun from the heart and enjoy herself widely. From time to time, Frida Kahlo had to go to the hospital and almost constantly wear special corsets. Frida underwent more than thirty operations during her life.
The family life of Frida and Diego was seething with passions. They could not always be together, but never apart. They shared a relationship that, according to one friend, was “passionate, obsessive and sometimes painful.” In 1934, Diego Rivera cheated on Frida with her younger sister Christina, who posed for him. He did this openly, realizing that he was insulting his wife, but did not want to break off relations with her. The blow for Frida was cruel. Proud, she did not want to share her pain with anyone - she just splashed it out on the canvas. The result was a picture, perhaps the most tragic in her work: a nude female body cut with bloody wounds. Next to him, with a knife in his hand, with an indifferent face, is the one who inflicted these wounds. "Just a few scratches!" - the ironic Frida called the painting. After Diego's betrayal, she decided that she also has the right to love interests.
This infuriated Rivera. Allowing himself liberties, he was intolerant of Frida’s betrayals. The famous artist was painfully jealous. One day, having caught his wife with the American sculptor Isama Noguchi, Diego pulled out a pistol. Fortunately, he didn't shoot.
At the end of 1939, Frida and Diego officially divorced. “We haven’t stopped loving each other at all. I just wanted to be able to do what I wanted with all the women I liked.", Diego wrote in his autobiography. And Frida admitted in one of her letters: “I can’t express how bad I feel. I love Diego, and the torment of my love will last a lifetime..."
On May 24, 1940, a failed attempt on Trotsky took place. Suspicion also fell on Diego Rivera. Warned by Paulette Goddard, he narrowly escaped arrest and managed to escape to San Francisco. There he painted a large panel on which he depicted Goddard next to Chaplin, and not far from them... Frida in Indian clothes. He suddenly realized that their separation was a mistake.
Frida had a hard time with the divorce and her condition deteriorated sharply. Doctors advised her to go to San Francisco for treatment. Rivera, having learned that Frida was in the same city as him, immediately came to visit her and stated that he was going to marry her again. And she agreed to become his wife again. However, she put forward conditions: they would not have sexual relations and they will conduct financial affairs separately. Together they will only pay for household expenses. So strange marriage contract. But Diego was so happy to have his Frida back that he willingly signed this document.
July 6 will mark the 108th anniversary of the birth of the most famous Mexican woman of the 20th century - Frida Kahlo / Frida Kahlo.
- The famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, famous for her eccentricity and unique talent, was born in 1907 in the capital of Mexico. The girl's parents were a Jewish artist who moved from Germany and a Spanish woman born in America. This unusual combination genes could not but affect the character of Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon.
- Unfortunately, very early, at the age of six, she was seriously ill with polio. The disease affected the child’s development; the girl’s right leg stopped growing and subsequently became shorter and thinner than the left.
- Twelve years later, another misfortune happened to the future artist - she got into a car accident, during which the iron fittings of a tram pierced her body, passing through her stomach and hip bone. The doctors could not immediately guess what the result of the surgical treatment of the victim would be, because they identified a spinal injury in three places. The injury led to immobility, which chained him for a long time young girl to bed.
Frida Kahlo is bedridden
- The tragic event still had a positive result, because inaction quickly became unbearable for Kahlo - she took up her brush. At first, the girl painted self-portraits. A mirror was hung above her bed so that Frida could see herself in it.
- After a while, Kahlo decided to study; in 1929, she entered the National Institute of Mexico. Energetic, full of love The Mexican woman made every effort to start walking again. But even after getting rid of the cage-bed and feeling freedom of movement again, Frida does not give up favorite hobby– painting. She attends classes at an art school, perfecting her unique style.
- In 1928, Kahlo entered the communist party, and soon her works were highly appreciated by Diego Rivera, a famous artist with communist views in Latin America. The acquaintance continued, and the talented couple became husband and wife.
- Between Diego and Frida there was a passionate, expressive relationship, covered in an aura of romance. The couple loved life, always had an active life position, were in the center public life. Even numerous betrayals Diego could not change the attitude of his wife in love towards him.
- The spinal injuries she experienced did not go unnoticed; Frida often experienced severe and excruciating pain. But this did not stop her from actively communicating with people, having fun, and attracting the attention of many men. Periodically, she needed to go to the hospital to improve her condition a little. Wearing a special corset also made life very difficult; Frida very rarely parted with it. And in 1952, unfortunately, due to complications, her leg had to be amputated at the knee.
Frida Kahlo on the cover of Vogue magazine (1937)
- But health problems did not become a reason to quit painting. On the contrary, in 1953, Frida Kahlo offered her first solo exhibition to the attention of art connoisseurs. Her paintings, mostly self-portraits, allowed many to see the unique beauty of the artist. There may not be a smile on her face, but it attracts, makes you stop and slowly examine every feature.
- Another passion of the famous artist is the history of her beloved Mexico. She, like her husband Diego Rivera, collected various cultural and artistic monuments. Collected exhibits on given time stored in the Blue House.
- The bright life of the eccentric artist, unfortunately, ended prematurely. When Frida was only 47 years old, she fell ill with pneumonia. The weakened body could not bear this disease, and Frida was still at a young age died. It has become big loss for Mexico, for fans of Kahlo's talent all over the world. It is worth noting that at the artist’s funeral there were not only her friends, but also many famous writers, artists, Mexican President, Lazaro Cardenas.
The life of Frida Kahlo in the artist's diary
IN last year Frida Kahlo's life kept a diary, which will be very interesting to see for those who study her biography and work. On the pages of her diary she wrote down her thoughts, made sketches and collages. The name that appears most often in the records is Diego. The artist loved her husband very much; she considered him a lover, a brother, a child, a creative colleague, and a mentor. Numerous entries in the diary, which consists of 170 written pages, are addressed to Diego. You can read in it both childhood memories and her painful complaints about the disease and all the difficulties that are associated with it. Kahlo kept her candid notes for 10 years, but they can illustrate her entire life.
Frida Kahlo while working with a Mexican boy
Features of Frida Kahlo's creativity and its connection with the culture of Mexico
The main style direction of Kahlo’s paintings is surrealism, which is also filled with colorful Mexican motifs. This is exactly how Andre Breton, the founder of the surrealist school, defined the Mexican style. But Frida herself had a very negative attitude towards such an assessment of her works, as well as towards those who considered themselves surrealists. She considered everything depicted on her canvases to be an illustration of real, real life.
Kahlo's work was highly appreciated famous artists Not only Latin America, but also the USA and Europe. Frida's works were exhibited not only in her homeland, but also in Paris. True, the exhibition was poorly organized. When, at the invitation of Andre Breton, Frida arrived at her exhibition in the French capital, it turned out that the paintings were still at customs. And they appeared before the audience only six weeks later. But this did not stop the artist from getting a large number of amazing reviews. Moreover, one of the paintings was added to its collection by the magnificent Louvre, and this says a lot.
If Frida Kahlo carefully fenced herself off from surrealism, she never hid the influence of Mexican folk art on her works. In her paintings this influence is manifested very subtly and elegantly. It is clear that Frida loves her homeland, its history and culture. She wore it with pleasure National costumes, this can be seen even in numerous portraits. Often in the paintings you can see various symbols characteristic of Mexican applied art. Ancient Indian mythology influenced his creativity, national traditions. But, against the backdrop of such characteristic Mexican motifs, the paintings also illustrate the influence of painting by European artists. A combination of different schools and traditions, multiplied by complex life milestones, expressive character and became the basis of a unique style.
Frida Kahlo paintings
List of paintings Mexican artist very big. Many of the works are unique self-portraits, which Frida began to paint while still motionless after a terrible car accident. In her portraits, Kahlo is often depicted in national Mexican costumes. Many of the works are known all over the world; they were exhibited several times both during Kahlo’s life and after her death. Such paintings include the unique canvas “Two Fridas”, “Little Doe”, “Broken Column”, “Self-Portrait. Loose hair." Also in the list of creative achievements:
- "Moses" (1945)
- "My Dress There or New York" (1933)
- "Fruit of the Earth" (1938)
- "The Suicide of Dorothy Hale" (1939)
- "What the Water Gave Me" (1947)
- "Self-Portrait" (1930)
- "Bus" (1927)
- "The Girl in the Mask of Death" (1938)
- "Dream" (1940)
- "Still Life" (1942)
- "Mask" (1945)
- "Self-Portrait" (1948)
- "1945 Magnolias" and many others.
Frida Kahlo paints a portrait
The last work, the still life “Viva la vida” (translated as “Long live life!”) perfectly shows the attitude towards the surrounding world of this amazing woman, whose path was very difficult and painful.
Some of Kahlo's paintings need to be not only looked at, but even solved. This is a complex painting, attractive and bewitching. You can see Kahlo's paintings in museums in Mexico and other countries, as well as in private collections.
Frida Kahlo House Museum
In the house where I was born famous artist, an interesting and fascinating museum has been organized. The room itself was erected several years before Frida’s birth in Coyocan (a suburb of Mexico City). The architecture of the building is consistent with national Mexican traditions. This, after organizing the museum, became a great advantage and added a certain flavor to the exhibition. During her lifetime, Frida and her husband significantly improved both the exterior and interior. They decorated the room in Indian traditional style and painted it blue. The furnishings of the house have been preserved as they were during the artist’s time.
Memory of the artist
The life of a unique Mexican woman inspired many film workers and musicians to create works of art dedicated to Frida.
- Film "Frida" (2002). The role of the artist was played by another famous representative of Mexico, Salma Hayek.
- Film "Frida against Frida's background" (2005). Non-fiction art strip.
- Documentary film “The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo” (2005).
- Short film "Frida Kahlo" (1971).
- "The Life and Death of Frida Kahlo" (1976).
In 1994, the famous US jazz flutist released an entire album dedicated to the artist, Suite for Frida Kahlo. And in 2007, an asteroid was named in honor of the artist.
Frida Kahlo's image and style:
Salma Hayek in the movie "Frida" photo
Other photos of Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo with her favorite monkey
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon (July 6, 1907, Coyoacan, Mexico City, Mexico - July 13, 1954, ibid.) - Mexican artist, best known for her self-portraits, wife of Diego Rivera.
Biography
Kahlo Frida, Mexican artist and graphic artist, wife of Diego Rivera, master of surrealism. Frida Kahlo was born in Mexico City in 1907, in the family of a Jewish photographer, originally from Germany. Mother is Spanish, born in America. She suffered from polio at the age of six, and since then her right leg has become shorter and thinner than her left. At the age of eighteen, on September 17, 1925, Kahlo was in a car accident: a broken iron rod from a tram's current collector stuck in her stomach and came out at her groin, shattering her hip bone. The spine was damaged in three places, two hips and a leg were broken in eleven places. Doctors could not vouch for her life. The painful months have begun other inaction. It was at this time that Kahlo asked her father for a brush and paints. For Frida Kahlo, they made a special stretcher that allowed her to write while lying down. The beds are attached under the canopy large mirror so Frida Kahlo could see herself. She started with self-portraits. "I write myself because I spend a lot of time alone and because I am the subject I know best". "In 1929, Frida Kahlo entered the National Institute of Mexico. During a year spent almost completely immobile, Kahlo became seriously interested in painting. Having started walking again, she attended art school and in 1928 joined the Communist Party. Her work was highly appreciated by the already famous time communist artist Diego Rivera. At the age of 22, Frida Kahlo married him. Their family life was seething with passion. They could not always be together, but they were never apart - passionate, obsessed and sometimes painful. similar relationships: “It is impossible to live either with you or without you.” Frida Kahlo’s relationship with Trotsky was shrouded in a romantic aura. The Mexican artist admired the “tribune of the Russian revolution”, was very upset about his expulsion from the USSR and was happy that, thanks to Diego Rivera, he found him. Mexico City shelter. Most of all in life, Frida Kahlo loved life itself - and this magnetically attracted men and women to her, despite painful physical suffering, she could have fun from the heart and revel widely. But the damaged spine constantly reminded of itself. From time to time, Frida Kahlo had to go to the hospital and almost constantly wear special corsets. In 1950, she underwent 7 operations on the spine, she spent 9 months on hospital bed, after which she could only move in a wheelchair. In 1952, Frida Kahlo's right leg was amputated at the knee. In 1953, Frida Kahlo's first solo exhibition took place in Mexico City. In not a single self-portrait does Frida Kahlo smile: a serious, even mournful face, fused thick eyebrows, barely noticeable mustache above tightly compressed sensual lips. The ideas of her paintings are encrypted in the details, the background, the figures that appear next to Frida. Kahlo's symbolism is based on national traditions and is closely connected with Indian mythology of the pre-Hispanic period. Frida Kahlo knew the history of her homeland brilliantly. Many authentic monuments ancient culture, which Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo collected throughout their lives, is located in the garden of the Blue House. Frida Kahlo died of pneumonia a week after celebrating her 47th birthday, on July 13, 1954. Farewell to Frida Kahlo took place at Bellas Artes - Palace fine arts. Frida, along with Diego Rivera, was accompanied on her final journey by Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas, artists and writers - Siqueiros, Emma Hurtado, Victor Manuel Villaseñor and other famous Mexican figures.
Creation
Frida Kahlo's work has always gravitated towards surrealism. The founder of surrealism, Andre Breton, traveling through Mexico in 1938, was fascinated by Kahlo’s paintings and definitely classified Frida Kahlo’s paintings as surrealism. Andre Breton proposed organizing an exhibition in Paris, but when Frida Kahlo, who did not speak French, arrived in Paris, she was in for an unpleasant surprise - Breton did not bother to pick up the works of the Mexican artist from the customs service. The event was saved by Marcel Duchamp, the exhibition took place 6 weeks later. She did not become financially successful, but critical reviews were favorable, Frida Kahlo's paintings were praised by Picasso and Kandinsky, and one of them was bought by the Louvre. Frida Kahlo, having a quick temper, was offended and did not hide her dislike for the “crazy madmen” sons of bitches surrealists." She did not abandon surrealism immediately, in January 1940. she took part (along with Diego Rivera) in International Exhibition Surrealism, but later proved that she was never a true surrealist. “ They thought I was a surrealist, but I wasn't. Frida Kahlo never painted dreams, I painted my reality,” said the artist.
Latin American art and Frida's paintings
National motifs are of particular importance in the work of Frida Kahlo. Frida Kahlo knew the history of her homeland well. Frida with special love belonged to Mexican folk culture, collected ancient works of applied art, even in Everyday life wore national costumes. Frida's paintings are heavily influenced by Mexican folk art and the culture of pre-Columbian civilizations in America. Her work is full of symbols and fetishes. The ideas of her paintings are encrypted in the details, background, figures appearing next to Frida, and the symbolism is revealed through national traditions and is closely connected with the Indian mythology of the pre-Hispanic period. And yet, in Frida’s paintings the influence of European painting is noticeable. Experts believe that the 1940s are the heyday of Frida Kahlo’s creativity.
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera
At the age of 22, Frida Kahlo became the wife of the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera. Diego Rivera was 43 years old at the time. The two artists were brought together not only by art, but also by common communist beliefs. Their stormy living together became a legend. Frida met Diego Rivera in adolescence, when he painted the walls of the school where Frida studied. After injury and temporary forced confinement, Frida, who painted many paintings during this time, decides to show them to a recognized master. The paintings made a great impression on Diego Rivera: “ Frida Kahlo's paintings conveyed a vital sensuality, complemented by a ruthless, but very sensitive, ability to observe. It was obvious to me that this girl was a born artist.».
Character
Despite her life of pain and suffering, Frida Kahlo had a lively and liberated extroverted nature, and her daily speech was littered with profanities. A tomboy in her youth, she hasn't lost her zest in later years. Kahlo smoked heavily, drank alcohol in excess (especially tequila), was openly bisexual, sang obscene songs and told equally obscene jokes to the guests of her wild parties.
Creation
In the works of Frida Kahlo it is noticeable strong influence Mexican folk art, the culture of pre-Columbian civilizations of America. Her work is full of symbols and fetishes. The influence of European painting is also noticeable in it - Frida’s passion for, for example, Botticelli was evident in her early works.
Exhibitions
In 2003, an exhibition of Frida Kahlo's works and photographs was held in Moscow. The painting “Roots” was exhibited in 2005 in London gallery“Tate”, and Kahlo’s personal exhibition in this museum became one of the most successful in the history of the gallery - about 370 thousand people visited it.
Cost of paintings
At the beginning of 2006, Frida’s self-portrait “Roots” was valued by Sotheby’s experts at $7 million. The painting was painted by the artist in oil on sheet metal in 1943 (after her remarriage to Diego Rivera). That same year, this painting sold for US$5.6 million, a record for a Latin American work.
House-museum
The house in Coyoacan was built three years before Frida was born on a small piece of land. With thick exterior walls, a flat roof, one floor of living space, and a layout that kept the rooms always cool and all opening onto the courtyard, it was almost the epitome of a colonial home. It stood only a few blocks from the central city square. From the outside, the house on the corner of Londres Street and Allende Street looked just like others in Coyoacan, an old residential area in the southwestern suburbs of Mexico City. For 30 years, the appearance of the house did not change.
But Diego and Frida made it the way we know it: a house in the prevailing blue color with elegant high windows, decorated in traditional Indian style, house full of passion. The entrance to the house is guarded by two giant Judases, their twenty-foot-tall papier-mâché figures making gestures as if inviting each other to conversation. Inside, Frida's palettes and brushes lie on the work table as if she had just left them there. Next to Diego Rivera's bed lies his hat, his work robe, and his huge boots. The large corner bedroom has a glass display case. Above it is written: “Frida Kahlo was born here on July 7, 1910.” The inscription appeared four years after the artist’s death, when her house became a museum. Unfortunately, the inscription is inaccurate. As Frida's birth certificate shows, she was born on July 6, 1907. But choosing something more significant than the insignificant facts, she decided that she was born not in 1907, but in 1910, the year the Mexican Revolution began. Since she was a child during the revolutionary decade and lived among the chaos and blood-stained streets of Mexico City, she decided that she was born along with this revolution. Another inscription adorns the bright blue and red walls of the courtyard: “Frida and Diego lived in this house from 1929 to 1954.” Before Diego and Frida's trip to the USA, where they spent 4 years (until 1934), they lived little in this house. From 1934 to 1939 they lived in two houses built especially for them in the residential area of San Angel. Then followed long periods when, preferring to live independently in a studio in San Angel, Diego did not live with Frida at all, not to mention the year when both Rivers separated, divorced and remarried.
Filmography
In 2002, the film “Frida” was made, dedicated to the artist. The role of Frida Kahlo was played by Salma Hayek. In 1971, the short film “Frida Kahlo” was released, in 1982 - a documentary, in 2000 - documentary from the series “Great Women Artists”, in 1976 - “The Life and Death of Frida Kahlo”, in 2005 - the documentary “The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo”.
Madonna really wanted to play her role in the biopic. But Salma Hayek became Frida in the film of the same name, and her image of the cheerful, outrageous Mexican artist was amazing!
Biography of Frida Kahlo
First hit
It’s a pity that the actress was not given an Oscar for this work ( high awards The Academy Awards were awarded for makeup and soundtrack, and Hayek remained a nominee). By the way, the relatives of those about whom the biographical film is being filmed Feature Film, often remain dissatisfied with the interpretation of events and the image dear to them. But here it turned out the other way around - the artist’s niece was delighted with Salma’s transformation.
Who is she, this woman, who has suffered so much torment and pain, a legend of Mexico, the pride of this Latin American country, pouring out her experiences on canvas?
First, let's try to pronounce this long Mexican name: Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo Calderon, married to de Rivera.
For some reason, fate presented her with unpleasant surprises almost from birth. Born in July 1907 to a Mexican mother (Frida was a half-breed - her father had German roots), the girl became seriously ill at the age of 6. Childhood polio, a disease that has now been learned to be easily dealt with through vaccinations, was a serious diagnosis back then. The baby withstood this first test steadfastly. She was not paralyzed, only had a slight limp, and one leg became a little thinner.
An accident that twisted the body, but not the soul
The first “bells” from the mocking fate only made the girl clench her teeth tighter - later this skill was very useful to our heroine. Frida grew up cocky and very athletic. She managed to become one of the “chosen ones”: almost no girls were accepted into the prestigious Preparatory school. Kahlo wanted to become a doctor and was a very diligent student. It was at this school that she first saw her future husband, the then eminent painter Diego Rivera: he was engaged in interior design.
Dreams about medicine were literally run over by a tram. It was with him that a bus with passengers collided. Unfortunately, Frida was among them. As if that tiny polio “injection” wasn’t enough for fate, she decided to chain the girl to the bed in a different way. She was only 18, but she seemed to be chained in a shell. Multiple fractures of the spine, pelvis, right leg, ribs, in addition, it was as if she had been nailed with a metal rod - right in the stomach. How did she survive this accident?
A year in bed - there is something to despair about. But Frida did not give up. That's when she took up her brushes. A simple device allowed the girl to draw while lying down; a mirror was placed above her. And the artist’s debut was a self-portrait - later she would paint a great many of them, it would be main theme Frida's creativity.
Experts classify her as a surrealist, but Kahlo’s style of painting was closer to the art of primitivists, and she was also inspired by Mexican folk motifs.
Fiery passion
Frida believed in the ideals of communism, almost boasted of her bisexuality, smoked like a steam locomotive, did not shy away from tequila, and could cover her interlocutor with a “three-story” obscenity. A certain masculinity was hidden by long skirts, bright colors clothes (she loved national costumes).
That meeting with Rivera at school left a mark on her heart, and she chose him as the “man of her life,” marrying him in 1929. He was 21 years older and couldn’t miss a single more or less attractive model: a fat and early-flabbed middle-aged womanizer. An odd couple (they called themselves “the elephant and the bird”)!
But the power of his talent, his cheerful, passionate nature so attracted the rebellious Frida that she could not resist this love throughout her not very long life.
Yes, she also had other men (even Trotsky fell under the millstone of her wild charm - expelled from Soviet Russia, he lived with the Rivera couple for some time), and there were women. But she only loved her Diego. He became her guru in painting; she listened to his advice and learned from him.
Rivera had a long-term job in the States in the 1930s, and his wife followed there. This “business trip” weighed heavily on her, where she felt even more connected to her native culture.
Recognition and death
Participation in the Paris exhibition opened Frida to Europe (the Louvre is interested in her paintings), followed by other prestigious exhibitions.
All more strength and nerves are spent on sorting out the relationship with an unfaithful spouse, motherhood turns out to be impossible: terrible youthful traumas make themselves felt. The terrible pain is only briefly relieved by strong medications, which almost turns into addiction.
Frida keeps a diary (this is a chronicle of her suffering) and writes feverishly, creating one picture after another: it is as if she knows that there is little time left.
Only a year before his death, the authorities organized a personal exhibition of Kahlo. The hero of the occasion could not come to her “benefit” on her own; like a queen, she was brought right on the bed. Even at the end of the journey, fate could not resist the next blows: gangrene, amputation of almost half of the right leg (it was then, during the accident, that it suffered the most: 11 fractures).
In July 1954, Frida passed away. A “lying down” lifestyle provoked fluid stagnation in the lungs, which caused inflammation and death. There is a version that she simply could not bear further torment and took too many drugs. There was no autopsy, but the entry in the diary about the imminent departure can hardly be considered suicide note. And it’s unlikely that this one strong in spirit, a woman not broken by any blows of fate would have given up so easily.
The President of Mexico himself came to say goodbye to Frida. A year later, the Blue House, where she was born, became a museum.
The best works of Frida Kahlo
The most famous works artists are self-portraits or scenes from own life. Including the very famous painting “Two Fridas”, “Self-Portrait with Parrots”, “Little Doe”.
She also painted her husband (“Portrait of Diego Rivera”).
But surrealism manifested itself in the works “My Dress is There”, “Moses” (“The Core of Creation”) - with many recognizable faces of tyrants and deities.
The Tate Gallery exhibited Frida's work "Roots" several years ago (it later went up for auction for $5.6 million). In the same British gallery was held (with great success) and a personal exhibition of the artist.
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Biography, life story of Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo de Rivera (Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo) is a Mexican artist.Childhood and youth
Frida was born in the Mexico City suburb of Coyoacan on July 6, 1907. Much later, the artist voluntarily changed her year of birth to 1910, the year when the Mexican Revolution took place.
Frida's father was Gilmero Kahlo, a photographer from Germany. Her mother, Matilda Calderon, was of Mexican descent with Native American ancestry. Frida was the couple's third child. She grew up as a sickly girl. At the age of six, the baby suffered from polio, which is why she limped all her life, and her right leg was noticeably thinner than her left (Frida hid this defect under long fluffy skirts). Despite her poor health, the girl was very active and purposeful. She loved to play sports, and she especially loved boxing.
At the age of 15, Frida became a student at the National preparatory school"Preparations". Kahlo chose medicine as her profile. "Preparatorium" was considered one of best schools Mexico. Not everyone could go there, especially girls. Of the 2,000 students, only 25 were female. From the very first days of her stay at the school, Frida became an authority among her fellow students. She created the closed group “Cachuchas” and became its head. At school, Frida was known as a shocking and bright girl.
Accident
On September 17, 1925, a tragedy occurred in the life of 18-year-old Frida. She was involved in a car accident while traveling on a city bus. The bus collided with a tram. Frida received terrible injuries - a triple fracture of the spine in the lumbar region, a fracture of the collarbone and ribs, a triple fracture of the pelvis, eleven fractures of the bones of the right leg, dislocation and crushing of the right foot, dislocation of the shoulder, puncture of the abdomen and uterus...
After terrible accident Kahlo whole year was bedridden. Health problems remained for life. Frida underwent more than a dozen operations, and she spent more than one month in the hospital. Due to damage to her uterus, Frida became infertile.
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Creative path
Lying in bed after an accident and unable to simply be, to exist in the usual way, young Frida Kahlo began to draw. She asked her father to buy her brushes, paints and canvases. A special stretcher was built for Frida, so she could create while lying down. A large mirror was fixed under the canopy of Kahlo's bed. Frida could see herself every second. And the very first picture that came out of her brush was a self-portrait. In many ways, it was this situation – loneliness, solitude with oneself – that determined the entire direction of Frida Kahlo’s work. She once said, “I write myself because I spend a lot of time alone and because I am the subject I know best.” The genre of self-portrait was predominant in Frida's work. Her works are a symbolic description of her life, her vision of the world, filled with fetishes and allusions.
In 1928, Frida Kahlo joined the Mexican Communist Party. In the 1930s, Frida settled for some time in the United States, where her husband worked (he will be discussed below). Staying in America further strengthened Frida’s love for her native Mexico, for her native culture. From that time on, Kahlo became addicted to national Mexican costumes, which she wore in everyday life, and collecting ancient works of Mexican applied art.
In 1939, Frida Kahlo traveled to Paris to attend an exhibition of Mexican art. One of her paintings was purchased by the Louvre. For Frida it became very highly appreciated her efforts. In the 1940s, Kahlo's paintings appeared at major art exhibitions. At the same time, Frida began to have problems with her mental balance. The narcotic drugs she took as prescribed by the doctor to relieve pain had Negative influence on her psychological health. And these same years are considered by critics to be the most productive in terms of Kahlo’s creativity.
In 1953, already at the end of Frida Kahlo’s life, the artist’s first solo exhibition took place in her native Mexico City. At the opening of the exhibition, Kahlo was brought in a hospital bed in a supine position - by that time she could no longer walk...
Last months of life and death
Shortly after the exhibition in Mexico City, doctors amputated Frida Kahlo's right leg below the knee. The artist began to develop gangrene, the development of which could only be stopped in this way.
Frida's health deteriorated every day. Kahlo was preparing for death. In her diary she wrote: “I hope that my departure will be successful and that I will not return.” On July 13, 1964, her suffering ended. The official cause of Frida's death is pneumonia. Some of Frida's close friends said that the woman had committed suicide by deliberately taking too much medication. But no autopsy was performed on the body, so it is impossible to either prove or disprove this theory.
Farewell to the outrageous artist took place at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City. Frida Kahlo's body was later cremated. An urn containing her ashes was placed in the house-museum named after her in Coyoacan.
Personal
Contemporaries remembered Frida Kahlo as a bright woman, lively and liberated. She allowed herself to use foul language, smoked and drank a lot, did not hide her bisexuality from the public and was always open to new things.
While still at the Preparatorium, Frida Kahlo met the Mexican artist Diego Rivera. In 1929, after the tragic accident, they got married. Frida was 22 years old at that time, Diego was 43. Their marriage was stormy and vibrant - just like them. Diego cheated on Frida, Frida cheated on Diego, both suffered from this, were wildly jealous, but still continued to passionately love each other.
In 1937, Frida Kahlo had an affair with a Soviet revolutionary