Love, pain and two accidents of the amazing Frida Kahlo (17 photos)

One of the most striking figures in the world of art of the 20th century. Her life was so incredible that it would be enough for several books and films. At the same time, Frida did not consider herself a real, serious artist all her life, but she painted all her life. Self-portraits are the artist's signature style.





Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, in a small village on the outskirts of Mexico City. Her father was the German photographer Guillermo Kahlo, and her mother, Matilda Calderon, was a Mexican with Indian roots. Frida was the third child in the family and not an ordinary one... At the age of six, Friducha suffered from polio, her right leg became several centimeters shorter than the other, which always had to be disguised with heels and long skirts. The girl withdrew and withdrew into herself. Guillermo took care of his daughter: he took her to boxing, they studied literature and philosophy together, taught her the skills of photography and film development.



Frida in childhood

School was also not easy for Frida: she was expelled from the first for bad behavior, and she immediately left the second when one of the teachers began to harass her. At the age of 15, Friducha entered the "Preparatoria", which was one of the best educational institutions in the country, where the future artist studied excellently and headed a circle, the members of which later became the most notable artists in Mexico. Frida left the "Preparatoria" with a comprehensive education, with her own unique cultural identity, and was fascinated by the ideas of communism.

"By the end, we can withstand much more than we expected from ourselves." (c) Frida Kahlo

It is interesting that Kahlo saw her future in the field of medicine and planned to study to become a doctor. But at the age of 18, a huge tragedy radically changed her life: Frida was riding a bus with her boyfriend when the vehicle crashed into a tram. The young man received only a few bruises, but Frida was crippled forever: broken collarbones, ribs, a spine broken in three places, severe pelvic injuries, a crushed foot and leg. Doctors really did collect the girl piece by piece.



"Wounded Deer" (1946)

As soon as Frida came to her senses, she immediately asked to bring her paints and brushes, deciding to become an illustrator. She had no time to feel sorry for herself, Kahlo understood that she could not become a burden to the family and decided to become an illustrator.



"Legs - why do I need them if I have wings to fly" (c) Frida Kahlo

30 operations. A year of bed rest. The father made a custom stretcher so that his daughter could paint her pictures lying down and a large mirror was placed near the bed. Frida began to paint self-portraits, which later became the genre of her work.

A lively, imaginative thinking, multiplied by obvious talent, gave the world honest (sometimes even too much), striking pictures, where Kahlo poured out her physical and internal pain.



The painting "Broken Column". It was this that inspired Jean-Paul Gaultier to create the costume for Milla Jovovich's character in the film "The Fifth Element"

At first, the doctors said that it would be a success if she survived. Then they said that if she could sit up, her parents should thank God for that.

But Frida didn't just survive. She got out of bed, joined the Communist Party, and began to move in bohemian circles. Creative get-togethers, conversations until the morning, fun parties, heated arguments and...

Accident two: Diego Rivera



Frida and Diego

The story of their relationship is special. It was Rivera who had a great influence on the work of his Friduchi, instantly recognizing her talent. Rivera helped his wife to open up completely.

"I've had two accidents in my life: one was when a bus crashed into a tram, and the other was Diego"

Diego was 43 years old when they met, and Kahlo was in her early 20s. Diego was a renowned Mexican artist, known not only for his paintings, but also for his sexual appetites. He was surprisingly unattractive, but girls flocked to his charm, intelligence, and attractiveness like moths.



"I only want one thing: that no one hurt him... If I had health, I would give it all to Diego" (c) Frida Kahlo

Frida went to him, barging into Diego's restored work without appeal, and demanded that he immediately evaluate her paintings so as not to waste time if drawing was not her thing. Three self-portraits of the impudent girl were enough for Diego to understand what a great artist was hiding inside her.

The artist couple quickly fell into an affair and got married.

"The most powerful art in life is to turn pain into a healing talisman, a reborn butterfly blooming in a festival of colors."

USA Time

Diego and Frida had been to the USA more than once. Kahlo didn't like the country, the Americans seemed primitive and soulless to her. She was filled with socialist ideas and couldn't accept the fact that someone could celebrate and celebrate for weeks while ordinary people were starving. This was reflected in Kahlo's work.



"Henry Ford Hospital" (1932)

Her paintings were full of suffering and naked pain. One of the most notable paintings of that period can be called the canvas "Henry Ford Hospital". Also worth noting is "Self-Portrait on the Border of Mexico and the USA".

"Hospital" was especially difficult for the artist: she painted the picture after one of her miscarriages... Frida could not become a mother after all the injuries and this destroyed her from the inside. "Self-Portrait" compares Frida's native Mexico with the West through her own national identity. Critics could not take the woman with a brush seriously, and newspapers called Kahlo "the wife of a great artist who dabbled in works of art."



"Self-portrait on the border of Mexico and the United States"

Return

Finally, Frida and Rivera returned to their homeland. Kahlo wanted to be creative, but first she had her appendix removed, then, for medical reasons, she had to undergo two abortions, and then, on the leg injured in that accident, two fingers were amputated.



"Never before has a woman put such painful poetry on canvas as Frida" (c) Diego Rivera

While his "birdie" was struggling to cope with the shocks that were pouring in one after another, Rivera managed to seduce Frida's own sister. Kahlo could no longer tolerate this, although before that she tried to accept her husband's infidelities as something inevitable. She cut off her braids with huge scissors and began to dress in men's clothes. Then animals began to predominate in her paintings, with which she surrounded her self-portraits. Frida loved animals and was always surrounded by birds, tame monkeys, pigeons.



"Just a Few Scratches"

Then Kahlo had a short and passionate affair with Trotsky. What was it? Revenge on her flighty husband? A real passion? Perhaps both. But, one way or another, this fact of the artist's biography exists, and what really happened there... It's not that important.



In 1938, Kahlo's first solo exhibition took place and her talent was recognized not only by her famous colleagues, but also by critics. Frida appeared on the cover of French Vogue, becoming a real star not only as a talented artist, but also as an example of true fortitude and will to live. In 1940, she ended up in the hospital and Diego, despite the fact that they were divorced, immediately rushed to his "birdie". And again he asked Frida to marry him. She agreed.



Leaving

The exhibitions became regular, but Frida herself was not having an easy time. Her health was slowly but surely bringing her closer to death.

In 1950, Frida almost never left the hospital, and her spine underwent seven operations. The pain became unbearable, the woman lay in bed almost all the time. Just like then, after the accident.



1953 and gangrene took Frida's leg. Which, by the way, did not stop her from coming to the opening of her own exhibition in Mexico, albeit in an ambulance. The whole evening, trying not to pay attention to the pain that had become habitual over the years, the artist smoked her favorite cigarettes, drank with fans and sang her favorite songs accompanied by a small orchestra. Frida understood that she had very little time left and was no longer going to deny herself the pleasure.



1950

And in 1954 she died of pneumonia. Leaving behind more than 150 paintings that so subtly and accurately convey this constant pain of Frida Kahlo and her fate, filled with suffering and love for life itself.

"I hope that the departure will be successful, and I will not return."

This was written by Frida Kahlo in her diary shortly before her death.



"Long live life!" (1954) One of the last paintings of Frida Kahlo, painted shortly before her death.