Painting completed my life - Frida Kahlo

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo [1907 – 1954) is known as the Master of self portraits. Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits.

Kahlo enjoyed art from an early age, receiving drawing instruction from a printmaker and filling notebooks with sketches.

Her 1st self-portrait ‘In a Velvet Dress’ was painted in the style of 19th Century Mexican painters who were greatly influenced by the European Renaissance Masters. In her 2nd self portrait, ‘Time Flies’, Kahlo uses a Mexican folk style and vibrant colours.

“I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best. My painting carries with it the message of pain."

Kahlo, who suffered from polio as a child, nearly died in a bus accident as a teenager. She suffered multiple fractures of her spine, collarbone and ribs, a shattered pelvis, broken foot and dislocated shoulder. She began to focus heavily on painting while recovering in a body cast. In her lifetime, she had 30 operations. She once said “Feet, why do I need you when I have wings to fly?”.

She had a specially made easel that enabled her to paint in bed. A mirror was placed above it so she could see herself. Painting became a way for Kahlo to explore questions of identity and existence. “I paint my own reality.”

Life experience is a common theme in Kahlo's works. Her physical and emotional pain are depicted starkly. She employed a folk art style which she invented for herself. Her paintings often had strong autobiographical elements and mixed realism with fantasy. Her identification with the people of Mexico and its culture, remained important facets of her art throughout her life.

Kahlo's paintings often featured roots growing out of her body to tie her to the ground, reflecting the theme of personal growth; of being trapped in a particular place, time and situation; and of how memories of the past influence the present for either good and/or ill. Trees serve as symbols of hope, of strength and of a continuity that transcends generations. Kahlo has been described as a surrealist or magical realist.

Kahlo’s colourful Mexican dress caused a sensation at New York at her first solo exhibition! She sold well and also received commissions.

The Louvre purchased her painting, ‘The Frame’, making her the first Mexican artist to be featured in their collection.

She struggled to make a living from her art until the mid to late 1940s, as she refused to adapt her style to suit her clients' wishes.

She had her first solo exhibition in Mexico in 1953, shortly before her death in 1954 at the age of 47.

Her family home is publicly accessible as the Frida Kahlo Museum.

2 movies, numerous articles, books and documentaries have been made on her life.

By 1984, Kahlo's reputation as an artist had grown to such extent that Mexico declared her works national cultural heritage, prohibiting their export from the country.

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Published in Colour Canvas issue of July 2018