Frida Kahlo
- Painter - July 6, 1907 - July 13, 1954
Some Interesting Trivia
Frida Kahlo's name given at birth was, Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón. Frieda comes from the German word Friede (her father was German), translated means peace. Around 1935 she dropped the last letter e and was then referred to as Frida.
Frida Kahlo
Her Style
Unlike Gustav Klimt, whom I wrote about in my first artist study, Frida Kahlo's main subject matter in her art was herself. She is well known for her self-portraits and paintings. One could say that she was defiantly ahead of today's selfie trend.
Frida's self-portraits were purposeful and thought out. She used symbolic elements in her paintings like animals, flowers, and traditional Mexican dresses and artifacts. Her self-portraits were also inspired by her troubled childhood and adult life. These events include: contracting polio as a child, surviving a horrible bus accident (responsible for many health issues and the 30+ surgeries she had in her lifetime), an unstable marriage, and miscarriage.
Frida Kahlo painted with oils, and a common subject of her paintings was herself.
Frida's work is influenced by:
Symbolism
Surrealism [suh-ree-uh-liz-uh m]
Mexican Culture
Modern Art
Her Work
Below are some examples of Frida Kahlo's famous paintings, along with a sample color palette.
- Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits
My Work Inspired By Frieda
Creating a personal piece inspired by a famous artist is a fun way to pay tribute to them. I used watercolor instead of oils, and of course, I had to add Frida's signature floral headpiece. Looking back, I should have put my hair in an up-do and added some other sort of symbolism.
Quote
Feet, what do I need them for if I have wings to fly.