The Tragic and Artful Life Story of Frida Kahlo
Her work may not be beautiful or understandable to everyone, but everyone agrees with the claim that Frida was a a fantastic woman.
Frida Kahlo was a famous Mexican artist and a great feminist. Her work may not be beautiful or understandable to everyone, but everyone agrees with the claim that Frida was a genius artist and a fantastic woman.
She was born on June 6, 1907, in the family of a German photographer with Jewish roots, Guillermo Kahlo, and her mother Matilda was of Spanish and Indian roots. The future artist was the third child in the family. Her first life challenges happened as a child. When she was 6 years old, Frida became ill with polio, which caused her right leg to shrink and become shorter than her left. This flaw did not prevent the girl from growing up as an "ordinary" child, swimming or boxing. However, Frida was always ashamed of that, so she hid her leg under trousers and long skirts.
When she turned 15, she started her studies, and at the same time, she showed interest in drawing. However, Frida never wanted to become an artist, because her painting was just fun, she actually dreamed of becoming a doctor. Her future husband Diego Rivera played a crucial role in her destiny. Not very attractive, but a charming young artist was a favorite of the young women. Frida joined his fans, but the girl was serious and immediately announced that she would become his wife and that she would surely give him a son. From that moment on, her attitude towards painting changed.
In 1925, Frida had a terrible accident. The car in which she was traveling hit the tram and the consequences were broken bones and legs. The artist had to undergo 8 difficult surgeries and spend several months in the hospital ward before she could walk again. During this difficult time, Frieda was really obsessed with painting. A special easel was built for her so that she could paint while she was lying on the bed, and there was a mirror above the ceiling, which is why there are so many self-portraits in Frida's works.
After 4 years, Frida entered the National Institute of Mexico, where she became close to Diego Rivera, who by then had become a famous artist and teacher. She once showed her work to Diego, who appreciated Frida's talent and pointed out that she was born an artist.
Frida and Diego got married when she was 22 and he was 43. Their marriage was called strange, but Frieda didn't care, she loved Diego, and he loved not only her but all the women in the world. He openly cheated on the artist, which is why Frida suffered a lot, but she transferred her pain exclusively to the canvas, on which real magic was created.
Indeed, most of her work is closely linked to her personal life. For example, the painting "Henry Ford Hospital", which shows a woman with dead babies around and empty reproductive organs, speaks of artistic pain because she never managed to become a mother. That horrific car accident in 1925 did not allow Frieda to experience the role of motherhood. She was pregnant three times, but unfortunately, none of the pregnancies ended successfully.
All her life, Frieda faced painful moments: physical pain from the consequences of the accident, but the greatest pain was the one due to her husband's constant betrayals. After Diego seduced Frida's younger sister, she couldn't stand it anymore and she left, but it wasn't even a year before they started living together again.
In 1950, the artist's health deteriorated quickly, she had to undergo several complex spinal surgeries but was eventually confined to a wheelchair, and after 2 years her leg was amputated, and a year later Frida passed away. Her character and work will live on forever.
One of her most beautiful statements says that everyone in the world has their own soulmate, no matter how different they were and what challenges they faced.
