Frida Kahlo: The artist and activist

While there are conflicting dates about her birth, Frida Kahlo is usually considered to have July 6, 1907, as the day she was born. She was raised in Coyoacan, Mexico City, and flourished as an artist and is thought very highly of in today’s Mexican culture. She is known for her self-portraits, portraits of others, and works which were inspired by nature or artifacts in Mexico.
Although September 17, 1925 was a tragic day for Kahlo, it also had a positive effect on her future. On that day, she was involved in a terrible accident between a bus and a train. She remained in a full body cast for three months, but, while lying in her hospital bed, she was reunited with her old childhood hobby, painting. Her parents made a custom easel for her to paint while she lay in bed. “I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best,” she said (https://www.fridakahlo.org/frida-kahlo-quotes.jsp).
When Diego Rivera, whom she later married, came to her school to paint a mural, she was fascinated by the man and his process and she knew that she would explore artistry to the fullest extent for the rest of her life. Being from Mexico City influenced her work because her focus was often on not only Mexican culture, but also the nature of Mexico.
Some of her most familiar works include The Two Frida’s, in which there are two images, both considered a different version of herself. Another one of her painting, The Wounded Deer, depicts her face on a deer with arrows in the body of the deer. These show how she endured physical and emotional pain throughout her life and she shows her audience this in a very creative way.
Kahlo did not paint what she thought society would accept as normal, but instead painted what she wanted to express and painted with her heart. This is why one of her other familiar images, often referenced because of her realistic inclusion of her facial hair above her eyes and upper lip, doesn’t conform to society’s expectations and, therefore, has a strong impact on the viewer. Before feminism was a movement, Kahlo was promoting perceptions of strong women, perceptions that are still admired today.
Frida Kahlo died on July 13, 1954, a week after what was considered to be her 47 birthday.