Frida Kahlo is one of the few female painters with world fame, and is also one of the only artists from Mexico to be internationally recognized. Mexican, revolutionary, anti-conformist, surrealist... so many adjectives to describe a woman who, above all, was free and unique, both in her work and in her life. Frida Kahlo's life has been retold several times through biographies and films. But do you really know her story? Artsper offers you 10 anecdotes from the life of this iconoclastic artist!
1. Frida Kahlo was not entirely of Mexican descent
Magdalena Frida Carmen Kahlo Calderón, her real name, was born on July 6, 1907. She falsified her date of birth, setting it at July 7, 1910 – the year the Mexican Revolution began. She was born in Mexico City. However, she was not of full Mexican origin! Her mother, Matilde Calderón y González, came from a family of Spanish generals and also had indigenous blood. Her father, Carl Wilhelm Kahlo Kauffmann, was born in Germany. Despite what Frida often claimed, he was not Jewish. His family was Lutheran and belonged to the middle class of the Grand Duchy of Baden (Germany). When he arrived in Mexico in 1891, he took the name Guillermo Kahlo and chose to pursue photography.
2. She didn't have a happy childhood.
Frida Kahlo was born after the loss of a son by her mother. Desperate, she gave Frida to a nanny, being herself very cold and distant. The atmosphere at home was melancholic. In addition to the tensions in the family and the half-sisters sent to the convent, her father's business did not flourish during the revolution.
Frida also had fragile health. She was born with a spinal deformity and at the age of 6 she was struck by polio. The disease caused her chronic pain and her right leg stopped growing, leaving her deformed. As a result, she was isolated from other children and received the insulting nickname “Crippled Frida”. Her education was turbulent: she was expelled from a German school for disobedience and then left vocational school to become a teacher after being sexually abused by a teacher. From childhood she showed a rebellious and indomitable character.
3. She almost became a doctor
Frida had not always intended to become a painter. From childhood, her father instilled in her a love of art. A friend of his, a sculptor, even gave her some lessons. She also helped her father in his profession by retouching, developing and coloring photographs. For her, art was more of a hobby.
Në moshën 16-vjeçare, ajo ishte një nga 35 vajzat e para që u pranuan në Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (shkolla më prestigjioze në Meksikë), mes 2,000 studentëve. Aty tregoi një interes të madh për shkencat natyrore dhe dëshironte të bëhej mjeke.
4. Një aksident me autobus shënoi fillimin e karrierës së saj
Më 17 shtator 1925, autobusi me të cilin udhëtonte u përplas me një tramvaj. Aksidenti i ndryshoi jetën. Edhe pse mbijetoi, pësoi dëmtime të rënda: legeni u shpua nga një shufër hekuri, duke i shkaktuar aborte të vazhdueshme; këmbën e djathtë e theu në 11 vende, shpatulla dhe shtylla kurrizore u dëmtuan rëndë. Deri në fund të jetës do të kryente 32 operacione dhe do të mbante 28 korse.
E detyruar të qëndronte në shtrat, ajo nisi të pikturonte. I ndihmuar nga familja, i ndërtuan një këmbalec dhe një pasqyrë mbi shtrat që të mund të shihte veten. Arti u bë për të mjet shërimi dhe autoportretet u shndërruan në subjektin e saj më të dashur.
5. Anëtare e Partisë Komuniste – një figurë pionere e feminizmit
E nxitur nga fotografja Tina Modotti, Frida iu bashkua Partisë Komuniste Meksikane në vitin 1928, vetëm 21 vjeç. Angazhimi i saj për drejtësi sociale dhe kulturën kombëtare kishte filluar që në adoleshencë, kur shkolla e saj promovonte indigjenizmin – një ideologji që theksonte trashëgiminë indigjene dhe refuzonte mendësinë koloniale perëndimore.
Me disa shoqe, krijuan një grup që sfidonte patriarkalizmin dhe shoqërinë maço. Brenda Partisë, ajo luftoi për barazinë gjinore, duke u bërë një figurë e rëndësishme për gratë. Pa komplekse, ajo pranoi hapur biseksualitetin e saj – diçka e rrallë për atë kohë.
6. Dashuria e stuhishme me Diego Rivera
Në vitin 1928, Frida u njoh me muralistin e madh Diego Rivera, 20 vite më i madh se ajo. Ata u martuan në vitin 1929. Marrëdhënia e tyre ishte njëkohësisht pasionante dhe shkatërruese. Frida thoshte: “Kam pësuar dy aksidente të mëdha: njëri ishte autobusi, tjetri Diego. Dhe Diego ishte më i keqi.”
Të dy e tradhtonin njëri-tjetrin. Në vitin 1935, Frida u trondit kur zbuloi marrëdhënien e Diego-s me motrën e saj. Ajo vetë pati një lidhje me revolucionarin Leon Trotsky, të cilin e strehuan në shtëpi kur mori azil në Meksikë. Çifti u divorcua në vitin 1938, por u rimartuan në 1940 dhe mbetën bashkë deri në vdekje.
Shtëpia e tyre simbolizonte marrëdhënien: dy godina të ndara, njëra blu për Fridën dhe tjetra bardhë-rozë për Diego-n, të lidhura me një urë. Ata ishin të pavarur, por të pandashëm.
7. Frida Kahlo nuk ishte surrealiste
Në vitin 1938, André Breton zbuloi veprat e saj dhe e ftoi në Paris për një ekspozitë surrealiste. Por Frida nuk u identifikua kurrë me këtë lëvizje: “Unë nuk pikturoj ëndrra, unë pikturoj realitetin tim” – thoshte ajo. Për të, piktura ishte kryesisht autobiografike.
Megjithatë, kjo vizitë shënoi fillimin e suksesit ndërkombëtar: Picasso i dhuroi një palë vëthë fildishi, dizajnerja Elsa Schiaparelli krijoi për të fustanin Zonja Rivera dhe Luvri bleu një autoportret të saj.
8. Her art – the metaphorical biography of life
Frida's works are inseparable from her life. Self-portraiture was a means of expressing her pain and personal history. In "Broken Column" (1944) she presents her body crushed by surgeries. In "Henry Ford Hospital" (1932) she shows her abortions. In many others she reflects her love for Mexican culture, using traditional clothing, flowers, parrots, cacti and symbols of local folklore.
Her art was also political: “Self-portrait with Stalin” (1954) or “Marxism will restore the sick person to health” (1954) testify to her commitment. In recent paintings, such as “Wounded Deer,” the acceptance of death is experienced.
9. Eternal pain and tragic ending
Frida lived in constant pain. In the 1950s, her condition worsened, she had her leg amputated due to gangrene, and she fell into depression. In 1953, during her first solo exhibition in Mexico, doctors did not allow her to get out of bed. She asked to have the bed taken to the gallery and made a grand entrance – like a queen on the throne.
She died in 1954, shortly after her 47th birthday, of pneumonia. Before her death, she wrote: “I hope to leave this world happy and never return.” Her body was cremated according to her wishes, because she did not want to lie down again, as she had suffered all her life.
10. Recognition and inheritance
As early as 1942, Frida gained official recognition by becoming a member of the Seminario de Cultura Mexicana. In 1943, she began teaching at the School of Fine Arts. In 2010, her portrait was placed on the 500 peso banknote along with that of Diego Rivera.
Frida Kahlo is today a symbol of Mexico, but above all an icon for women, feminism and the LGBT community. Her strength, independence and art have made her an inspirational figure for generations. At the same time, she has become a pop and cultural icon, her face printed on endless T-shirts, posters, mugs and souvenirs.
Source:
https://blog.artsper.com/en/a-closer-look/10-things-to-know-about-frida-kahlo/
Image Credits: https://www.fridakahlo.org/the-two-fridas.jsp
