Frida Kahlo (6 July, 1907 – 13 July, 1954)
The title of this month’s Patron blog was Frida’s last painting (a still life of cut watermelons) completed a week before her death. Even after a lifetime of physical pain and suffering that would’ve humbled any one of us, she was still celebrating life the best way she could.
Frida’s life of physical pain began with a polio diagnosis when she was 6 years old. Despite bullying and a late start in her education, her supportive parents, especially her father, encouraged her to participate in sports and what physical activities she could to keep up her strength. However, throughout her life, her right leg was thinner and shorter than her left.
One of the two most profound events of Frida’s life which was to affect the rest of her life and her health was a bus accident when she was 16 years old. Had it not been for the accident, we might have had Dr. Frida Kahlo instead of artist Frida Kahlo because she was taking pre-med classes and already had experience in illustrating the body. Back to the accident itself, a trolley car hit the wooden rickety bus she and her boyfriend at the time were riding in after school. Her right leg was crushed, most of her pelvis was crushed, her spine was broken in 3 places, and part of a rail entered through her back and exited out of her vagina. Bear in mind this accident happened in 1925 – horrific even if it happened today but seemingly insurmountable back then. Because she was bed-ridden for months, she was encouraged by her parents to paint. Her mother fit a mirror on the overhead part of Frida’s canopy bed, and her father rigged up an easel that fit over her – thus began her lifetime of painting including many self-portraits.
Once she was able to walk again, the 2nd profound event/person entered her life – Diego Rivera. Diego was already well-known as a mural artist and had spent time in Paris and befriended many of the surrealists. Frida brought her paintings to him to ask if she had a future as an artist. He wholeheartedly encouraged her from the beginning. Despite the tumultuous nature of their life together, which you can read about and see in other places, Diego was always promoting Frida and her work and was always her biggest cheerleader.
Frida was always true to herself no matter the obstacles and the pressures to conform. At the time, sick and infirmed people were supposed to be hidden away and whispered about in hushed tones; she absolutely refused to do so. As I said in the beginning, she lived life despite not being able to have children, at least a dozen of painful – sometimes useless – back surgeries, and the amputation of her right leg below the knee around a year before her death.
Just do a search for Frida Kahlo in your favorite search engine or in YouTube to see DOZENS of videos and websites devoted to her. My favorite documentary is The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo; my favorite movie is Frida, starring Selma Hayek as Frida and Alfred Molina at Diego Rivera.
Any other thoughts/questions about Frida? Reach out and let me know!
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