Frida Kahlo
Painter - July 6, 1907 - July 13, 1954
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 and was defiantly ahead of the selfie trend we have today.
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 her 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
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 head piece. 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.
Interesting Facts
Frida Kahlo 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.