What is the Artwork of Frida Kahlo About?

Frida Kahlo de Rivera, better known as Frida Kahlo, was a Mexican artist that painted many portraits, self-portraits and created other works inspired by the nature, culture, artifacts of Mexico and she was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoácan, Mexico City, Mexico. Her artworks were very symbolic and displayed the experiences and pain throughout her life. Unfortunately, this artist would suffer from a streetcar accident that would leave her infertile, she would marry a famous muralist named Miguel Rivera, she would become a political activist, and her oil paintings influenced by her personal experiences would allow her to rise to fame herself. However, her life would be short lived as she died at the age of 47 due to Pulmonary Embolism on July 13, 1954. Some of Frida's paintings would be controversial, yet intriguing as she lived in a time where women demanded equal rights for both men and women, so these cultural problems would influence Frida's paintings and even make her an icon in feminist movements . The self-portrait was her most common genre and she was capable of showing her modern ideology, but indigenous background through the dramatic views of herself. Even though her art was controversial, it would gain global recognition because of its alluring and demanding discussion. The bumps on the road of Frida's marriage greatly tie in to her art and even her health. Though Frida and Diego loved each other greatly, they had many conflicts within their relationship and both offered a severe lack of loyalty. Diego gained the reputation that he was a womanizer, which would deeply anger Frida and cause her to gain a rather vengeful manner against Diego. Frida would paint Frida and Diego Rivera and at the time of its creation, Diego was a well-renowned artist and Frida considered painting to just be no more than a hobby. During the rise of Kahlo' success, her relationship with Diego would start to deteriorate and they would divorce at around 1939. Although Frida was deeply saddened and betrayed, she would overlay Diego's face on her forehead in the artwork Diego on my Mind and also wears an iconic headdress in that painting made of leaves and its root resembles to that of a spider's webs, which symbolizes that her thoughts of Diego are trapped in her own mind. Diego would continue to be a common theme among her art along with her health issues. Graphic self-portraits such as The Broken Column , which was painted in 1944 after having spinal surgery due to the streetcar accident, are depicted based on the physical struggles and pain encountered in her life. Though Frida Kahlo lived a harsh life and was surrounded by a rough environment, she was able to create some of the most controversial and influential pieces of art representing the challenges she had to face. She had a strong will and was even so rebellious that despite the orders of her doctors, she left the hospital while on a wheelchair(her right leg was amputated at the knee) to partake in a political protest. Frida Kahlo's views on the world and experiences will forever live on in her beautiful, dramatic masterpieces

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