Frida Kahlo is one of the most important names of the twentieth century with her impressive works as well as her interesting story. In this article, the life, words and works of the painter, who is known for his self-portraits, are included.
The Mexican painter, whose real name is Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo Calderon, was born in 1907 and died in 1954 at the age of 47. Known not only for her art but also for her private life and political views, Kahlo led a life full of suffering.
However, she never gave up and was revived every time, both spiritually and physically, like a Phoenix.
For Kahlo, one of the rare painters who became famous while living, Picasso; “We don’t know how to draw human faces like him,” she said. The life of the famous woman; It was adapted for the big screen under the name Frida in 2002 and became one of the indispensables of the best biographical films lists.
Below is an extraordinary life story that will haunt the minds of those who do not know for days, and that will make those who know hurt again and make them experience complex emotions.
Who is Frida Kahlo?
She is a Mexican born painter. In addition to her artistic personality, she is also known as a feminist and revolutionary. In her short life full of difficulties, she produced many important works.
She became one of the rare painters to become famous before she died, becoming a popular culture icon of the 20th century. Although his art has been described by some as surrealist, she has never accepted this definition.
There are 143 paintings of Kahlo, who embraced the painting in order to forget her sorrows. And many of them were bought by Madonna, whose admiration for the painter is well known.
In short; She is a strong and strong woman who has never given up on living despite the physical and mental pain she has suffered! And they are among those rare personalities whose life story can be learned and assimilated!
The Life of Frida Kahlo
She was born on July 6, 1907, in Coyoacan, in southern Mexico. She was the third of four daughters of Hungarian-Jewish photographer Wilhelm Kahlo and Native American Matilde Calderon Gonzales.
However, in the following years, she would change her birthday to July 7, 1910, the date of Mexico’s revolution. Because, according to Kahlo, her life had to begin with the birth of modern Mexico. The house where the painter, who lived with his family in Coyoacan, lived, was called the Blue House because of its color.
And the artist spent most of her life in this house, the exterior walls of which were painted in cobalt blue. Her mother, who was of Native American descent, was kind, intelligent, sometimes cruel, calculated and overly religious, according to the artist’s words. On the contrary, her father was kind and understanding.
Her father, who was always by her side and supporting her, would do her best for her daughter during her illness.
For Kahlo, who contracted polio at the age of 6, it was her first move to death. Because at that time, many children were dying from this disease. Although she defeated the disease by resisting, one leg remained thinner than the other.
Her slender leg, a remnant of polio, led to her being nicknamed “wooden leg Frida” which she disliked. And the little girl, who would later become a world-famous painter, would always wear long skirts because of the thinning of her legs.
The first obstacle that the celebrity, who grew up as a boy and made friends with more boys during school years, had to deal with was her leg. Not giving up, she decided to study medicine and entered the National Preparatory School in Mexico. She broke new ground by entering this school, which was one of the best schools of the period.
Because before, male students were always accepted to the school and she was one of the first female students to attend the National Preparatory School.
Kahlo, who developed herself in fields such as art, literature and philosophy, had school friends such as Alejandro Gomez Arias, Alfonso Villa and Jose Gomez Robleda, who will be known as the important names of Mexico in the future.
As she continued his education, time was running fast towards September 17, 1925. The accident that took place on this date would be a turning point in his life. On September 17, 1925, the bus on which Frida and her boyfriend Alejandro Gomez Arias were returning from school collided with a tram.
Many people died in the accident, seriously injured. When she was taken to the hospital with numerous fractures, dislocations, as well as an iron bar that went through her abdomen and injured her spine, doctors said her chances of survival were slim.
But she had survived that too, returning from the dead for the second time. She was discharged from the hospital exactly one month after the disastrous accident, on October 17, 1925. Although she was writhing in pain, the young woman who did not reflect this would be intertwined with doctors, hospitals, medicines, beds and corsets for a long time.
The painter, who had about 30 surgeries, spent the whole day in bed. And this process was challenging the family not only spiritually but also financially.
Trying to pay for her daughter’s treatment expenses, the father put her valuables in the house up for sale. Despite everything, Wilhelm Kahlo, who was with her daughter, had made a bed for her (which we will see in her paintings) to make her smile.
Her mother hung a mirror from the ceiling so she could see herself. And this mirror would be a start for him. Because she found the solution in painting. Trying to forget her pain by painting, the woman gifted her first portrait to her first love, Alejandro Gomez Arias.
She got better with each passing day and continued to paint during his time in bed. Thanks to the mirror on the ceiling, he made many self-portraits during this period. The famous personality, who started walking about 2 years after the accident, started to appear in the art and politics communities during this period. He attended the invitations and took part in political discussions.
He had already become a member of the Mexican Communist Party soon after. However, he would resign from the membership the same year, when his wife, Rivera, was expelled from the party.
Kahlo, who paints while dealing with politics on the one hand, wanted to meet the famous painter Diego Rivera. She met the Mexican painter, also known as Michalangelo, and fell in love with him, and the couple married in August 1929, against all odds.
The couple’s marriage was contested, which was wrong for many, including his mother. In fact, mother Matilde compared their relationship to the union of a pigeon and an elephant. But he didn’t care about these negative reviews.
The strong woman wanted to be the third wife of the communist painter, who was 21 years older than her and was known for her infidelity, and she achieved what she wanted. However, the relationship between the artist couple was turbulent. Her husband was often seeing other women and cheating on his wife.
The couple could not have children in their marriage, which continued with ups and downs. The painter, who became pregnant several times, had her first abortion and then had two miscarriages in a row. The woman, who was greatly affected by these events, also included her imaginary son in her paintings.
The painter, who is also known as a passionate lover; she said that she had two major accidents in her life for Rivera, one of them was the train that almost killed him, and the other was Diego, and that Diego was much more destructive than the train accident. After 10 years of turbulent marriage, the couple decided to divorce.
However, the duo remarried a year later and settled in the house where the painter spent his childhood. And in their marriage, not only her husband, she was also a cheater. In other words, the couple had relationships with others, although they loved each other very much.
E.g; She maintained a relationship with American photographer Nickolas Muray while she was married. And Muray fell in love with the famous name. However, Muray finally realized that the woman he loved could not break away from Diego and their relationship ended.
Leon Trotsky, one of the leading figures of the Russian revolution, was among the names with whom she lived. However, she broke up with Trotsky after Trotsky’s wife realized their affair. During her remarriage with Diego, she opened an exhibition in New York with the support of her artist friend Andre Breton.
After this exhibition, her fame began to spread. The woman, who was often sick, tried to forget her pain with art by continuing to paint with all her strength. Kahlo, who had exhibitions in America and France as well as in her own country, began teaching at the art school La Esmeralda in 1943.
Despite his poor health, the painter, who taught for 10 years, gave lessons at home due to his illness. Her students were also known as Los Fridos (Frida Students). He was hospitalized in 1950 due to health problems and stayed here for 9 months.
The painter, who opened an exhibition in Mexico (her first solo exhibition in her country) in 1953, had her right leg amputated in the same year due to gangrene. She died in 1954 at the age of 47 with the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. The last work she gave in her life, which touched one’s heart, was the still life painting named “Long Live Life”.
The ashes of the famous personality whose body was cremated are kept in the Blue House, which was donated to the state by Rivera in 1955. The famous name, who wanted her body to be cremated, said that she spent enough time in bed before she died, so she did not want to go to bed any longer.
Author: Mr. Article
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