Our protagonist of today probably needs few introductions, but we want you not to miss any detail. Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter of the early twentieth century. Frida stood out in a men’s world (who were in charge of receiving recognition in the artistic field). She also opened a path for all those women who were sure of themselves and their talent.
Frida Kahlo’s masterpieces have been tremendously prolific and influenced by very diverse episodes in her life. For example, an accident that left her bedridden for a long time. But if we think about who this artist was, her physical appearance undoubtedly comes to mind. Frida decided to create her image as if it were a work of art. She wanted to focus it on the struggle for equality.
She masculinized her appearance. Allowing and accepting facial hair and forgot about gender stereotypes, which were so prevalent at the time.
Frida is a symbol of feminism for more than just her paintings. The fact that a woman comes far in painting in those times is to be applauded. Kahlo wanted to be a woman fighter in other areas. For example, politics. Frida was a free woman, and she reflected this in her masterpieces. These masterpieces spoke openly about all the topics that influenced society.
Frida Kahlo Masterpieces – A Way To Represent
During her life and artistic career, Frida Kahlo rescued the roots of Mexican folk art. Through her art, clothing, and ideologies. As renowned portraitists, they captured in her masterpieces the influence of nature and the artifice of Mexico.
Frida enhanced the national popular culture. Frida Kahlo’s work is a sample of the evolution of art in her country. This is due to the autobiographical features of her paintings.
An advocate of Marxism and indigenous rights, she actively participated in politics. This was a role that was almost exclusively assigned to the male gender. Therefore, Frida Kahlo’s masterpieces represented many people who felt admiration for the Mexican artist. People always considered Frida as a representative.
Her works reflect her ailments, her stormy marriage to Diego Rivera, her communist ideals, and her conception of women. The Mexican artist was a passionate woman who lived with intensity. Both the misfortunes and the joys that fate brought her. For this reason, Frida Kahlo’s masterpieces represent celebration, color, blood, and life.
She is admired by many not only for her paintings but also for her strong personality. Her life reveals a world of feelings and perseverance. This is why today, people consider Frida a true feminist icon and a great representative of Mexican art.
Kahlo’s works also featured popular elements of Mexican art. Her extensive anthropological and archaeological knowledge of her country, Mexico, inspired her in every way. Frida used to appreciate her culture, and we can see this in each of the photographs taken of Frida. In which she always wears the typical Tehuana costume and flowers in her hair.
A Life Full Of Passions And Disappointments
In her short life, the Mexican painter traveled a path full of passions and disappointments, which made her a controversial woman for her time and, for many, an example of strength. The two constants in Frida Kahlo’s life were love and health problems. Both of which decisively marked the character of Frida Kahlo’s masterpieces.
In her youth, she faced a catastrophic bus accident that caused her multiple fractures and ailments. She would suffer for the rest of her life. It was during the many hours of bedridden recovery that he began to paint.
At Frida’s request, her mother installs a mirror on the ceiling of the canopy of her bed. So that she could see herself reflected in it, and there she painted her first self-portrait.
Despite the continuous physical pain that invaded Frida’s body, she managed to become one of Mexico’s most emblematic figures. In her shadow, she is still accompanied by her partner of twenty-five years, the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.
Her revolutionary feelings were compatible with her husband, the painter Diego Rivera, who admired Frida’s feminist vindication. Both were militants of the Mexican Communist Party. They considered that the basis for the construction of socialism is the loving feeling in the responsibilities. And the unzipping of any human being, especially of women.
Frida met Diego Rivera after he returned to Mexico from Europe and began working at the artist’s studio. After the Mexican artist presented her work to Diego, he got impressed, and sometime later, they married.
In 1935 Frida discovered that Diego was unfaithful with her younger sister, Cristina Kahlo. Frida tolerated several of Diego’s infidelities but discovering that he was having an affair with her sister destroyed her.
Frida’s life was marked by severe events that greatly influenced what her masterpieces represent. Understanding each of them gives us a broader picture of what the artist had to live. Historians often turn to Frida’s early life to understand the true meaning of her works. Frida’s works were conditioned by the artist’s misfortunes and love life. Turning to her history is a very effective way to understand her legacy.
Astonishing Masterpieces
Undoubtedly, Frida Kahlo is one of the most famous painters in the world. Her works of art have traveled to various parts of the world. So that her legacy has transcended borders, enhancing through her work and Mexican culture.
Although the most influential artists of her time labeled her as Surrealist, the painter did not consider herself. Since it was based on her own experiences marked by the streetcar accident and her husband, Diego Rivera, in other words, we can learn a little of her life through her work.
About a third of his works were self-portraits. Frida Kahlo’s masterpieces are not just a simple representation of herself or the world around her. Instead, her artworks act as a tool of expression. Also, it is a way of visually conveying her memories and the complex ideas that were running through her mind. Her self-portraits are loaded with hidden details and symbolism.
In 1926 Frida Kahlo painted her first self-portrait. By then, she was 19 years old and suffering the consequences of a severe accident. This accident left her bedridden for a long time. During that time, Frida could only see the ceiling of her room.
Her mother moved and designed a special easel for her, allowing her to paint lying down. On one side of the easel, she attached a mirror so that Frida could see herself. This is how Frida Kahlo began to paint her self-portraits. This would be the painting that would begin her inquiry.
Contrary to uninformed opinion, Frida did not pay tribute to herself. Instead, she is perceived as ugly and too thin. She did not embellish any of her features. But instead enhanced those elements considered “unsightly,” such as her eyebrows joined and arched in a heart shape.
She never realized that in this “sincerity,” she would find her distinctive sign. Because of this, she arouses the interest of the international community.
By 1939 Frida had divorced Diego Rivera. It is the failure of her love experience that she portrays in her work -Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace-. She will use natural symbols for it and will combine Christian and indigenous values. The necklace of thorns, like a crown of Christ, represents the strangulation and wounds produced by Rivera’s betrayal.
Another of his masterpieces is “still life.” This personal work was exhibited to the public many years after its creation. This still life was commissioned by the first lady of Mexico at the time, Soledad Orozco. Soledad was the wife of President Manuel Avila Camacho.
The painting was framed in a circumference that alludes to the maternal womb. Plants and fruits with erotic connotations are included within it, which is why the piece was rejected.
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Final Thoughts
Frida Kahlo’s masterpieces are works that undoubtedly marked a new path in the history of art. Frida, as a representative of feminism, was a very influential character in the history of Mexico. Understanding what the artist went through reveals a new world to us. This teaches us the meaning of each of her works.
Although the artist has more than 100 works, we were able to show you the works with more relevance. Such was the impact that these works had, that today Frida is a representation of many women. Not only in Mexico but around the globe. Such is Kahlo’s recognition that today, she is still considered one of the most influential artists many years later.
