Welcome to the first of many Factual Fridays!
Autoretrato en la Frontera entre Mexico y lost Estados, 1993
While reading through my art history book (History of Art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, Impressionism and Modern Art, 2008), the description for Frida Kahlo's ((1907-1954) information caught my eye. Among the insight into the beginnings of why she started painting and what her paintings reflect, there was a quote by Andre Betron that described her art as "like a ribbon tied around a bomb" that I found extremely moving.
Although she had no intention of being an artist, a bus accident that left her severely injured and spent over a year in bed to recover, and in her convalescence she began to paint. At this time, her work consisted mainly of self portraits and still life. At age 22 Kahlo married a famous muralist Diego Rivera who was 20 years her senior. Their artistic temperament, infidelities as well as her poor health and inability to bear children resulted in a stormy marriage with divorces and remarriages. Much of Kahlo's work during this period describes the pain she suffered. Not only that, but also the pain of women in general were dominant features in her paintings, expressed in a surreal way and often vibrant with intensity and passion.
In her artistic career Kahlo produced 143 paintings alone, 55 of which are self-portraits. When asked why she painted so many self-portraits, Kahlo replied "because I am so often alone... because I am the subject I know best."
With that said, two of Kahlo's works are featured on this post. For more, please click here: List of selected works. You can also google "Frida Kahlo" and will also find plenty of information and other works. Enjoy!
The Two Fridas, 1939I hope you liked this first Factual Friday, and if you did, don't forget to share it with those who will also find this interesting. See you on Sunday for a Sunday Surprise!
Oil on canvas, 68 x 68 in. (173 x 173 cm), Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City
<3 Kara
Resources:
- History of Art from the Middle Ages to Renaissance, Impressionism and Modern Art, 2008 (ISBN: 978-1-84451-329-1)
- http://www.artchive.com/artchive/K/kahlo.html
- http://www.fridakahlo.com/
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