Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico, a small town just outside Mexico City. She lived most of her life in the same house — La Casa Azul, which means The Blue House, in Spanish. Frida’s father was German and her mother was AmerIndian, which means she came from the original people who lived in Mexico before the Spanish invasion.
Frida’s parents did not get along and so, her childhood was not happy. When she was three, the Mexican revolution broke out and there was war and fighting in the streets. Frida overcame a lot of suffering and pain in her life, which can be seen in her paintings.
Back to her roots
When she was six, she was affected by polio, a disease that attacks the legs. As a result, her right leg became thinner than her left. She wore long skirts to cover them. Frida went to college and started studying to become a doctor. However, she met with a terrible bus accident when she was 18. She broke so many bones in her body that she had to be put in a full body cast and stayed in bed for three months. With no TV or video games to entertain her, she started to paint what she saw and felt. She gave up wanting to be a doctor and became an artist instead. After being operated on 30 times, she recovered and was able to walk again. But, for the rest of her life, suffered pain.
Frida’s art shows the influence of her AmerIndian roots. She used bright colours and many symbols and objects from Mexican and AmerIndian culture. She dressed in traditional Mexican costumes and added flowers, ribbons and braids to her hair in the Mexican style. She was a master of the “selfie” and painted 55 self-portraits. She could not have children because of her accident and this sadness shows in some of her paintings. Some artists thought she painted in the Surrealist style, but Frida disagreed. She said, she painted her reality and not her dreams.
She greatly admired the mural artist Diego Rivera and asked him for advice. Diego encouraged Frida’s art and thought she was talented. The two became friends and got married. During her lifetime, Frida’s work was never as famous as her husband’s. However. she did have exhibitions in New York, Paris and in Mexico City. Frida’s health worsened, as she grew older. She had to be carried in a stretcher for the exhibition in Mexico City.
In the summer of 1954, Frida was sick and died in her blue house. After her death, the house became a museum. Her paintings became famous all over the world. Several movies have been made about her life and books have been written about her.
You can find pictures of Frida Kahlo’s paintings on the internet. Be sure to ask your parents’ help because many of her paintings are not suitable for children.
