Frida Kahlo

"…one of history's grand divas…a woman that hobbled about her

bohemian barrio in lavish indigenous dress and threw festive dinner parties

for the likes of Leon Trotsky, poet Pablo Neruda, Nelson Rockefeller,

and her on-again, off-again husband, muralist Diego Rivera."

http://www.fridakahlo.com/

Frida Kahlo de Rivera (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954) was a

Mexican painter best known for her self-portraits of "pain and passion",

and intense, vibrant colors. Her work has been celebrated in Mexico

as a symbol of national and indigenous tradition, and by

feminists for her depiction of the female experience and form.

"I paint myself because I am so often alone and

because I am the subject I know

best."

A survivor of polio, she entered a pre-med program in Mexico City. At

the age of 18, she was seriously injured in a bus accident. She spent over a year in bed recovering from fractures to her spine, collarbone and ribs, a shattered pelvis, and shoulder and foot injuries. She

endured more than 30 operations in her lifetime

At 22 she married the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera,

20 years her senior. Their stormy, passionate relationship

survived infidelities, the pressures of careers, divorce,

remarriage, affairs, Frida’s poor health and her inability to have

children.

Frida once said: "I suffered two grave accidents in my life…One

in which a streetcar knocked me down and the other was

Diego." The streetcar accident left her crippled physically and

Rivera crippled her emotionally.

Assignment

The next slide is a portrait Frida Kahlo painted. I want you to analyze the painting. Analyzing is not describing. I don’t want sentences like “The sky is gray.” I want sentences like “The sky may represent her emotions at the time—gloomy and sad.”

Write five sentences analyzing the portrait.

Then, write 5 main points about Frida’s life.