Mexican artist Frida Kahlo... How much noise there is in Lately around her name in the art world! But at the same time, how little we know about the biography of Frida Kahlo, this original, unique artist. What image appears in our minds when we hear her name? Many people probably imagine a woman with thick black eyebrows fused at the bridge of her nose, a soulful gaze, and neatly tied hair. This woman is certainly dressed in a bright ethnic costume. Add here a complex dramatic fate and great amount self-portraits that she left behind.
So how can we explain the sudden interest in the work of this Mexican artist? How did she, a woman with a surprisingly tragic fate, manage to conquer and make the art world tremble? We invite you to take a short journey through the pages of Frida Kahlo’s life, learn a little more about her extraordinary work and find answers to these and many other questions for yourself.
The mystery of the unusual name
The biography of Frida Kahlo fascinates from the very first days of her difficult life.
On July 6, 1907, something happened in the family of a simple Mexican photographer Guillermo Calo. significant event. The future talented artist Frida Kahlo was born, showing the whole world the originality of Mexican culture.
At birth, the girl received the name Magdalena. The full Spanish version is: Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo Calderon. The future artist began to use the name Frida, by which she became known throughout the world, in order to emphasize German origin her family (as is known, her father was from Germany). It is also worth noting that Frieda is consonant with the German word Frieden, which means calm, peace, quiet.
Formation of character
Frida grew up in a feminine environment. She was the third of four daughters in the family and, in addition, had two older sisters from her father's first marriage. In addition to this circumstance, the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1917 had a significant impact on the development of her character. A serious economic crisis, civil war, constant violence and shooting around hardened Frida, instilling in her fortitude and a desire to fight for a happy life.
However, the story of Frida Kahlo would not be so tragic and unique if her misadventures ended there. While still a child, at the age of 6, Frida fell ill with polio. As a result of this terrible disease, her right leg became thinner than her left, and Frida herself remained lame.
First inspiration
12 years later, on September 17, 1925, Frida again suffered misfortune. A young girl was in a car accident. The bus she was traveling in collided with a tram. For many passengers, the accident was fatal. What happened to Frida?
The girl was sitting not far from the handrail, which came off during the impact, piercing her through and damaging her stomach and uterus. She also received severe injuries, touching almost all parts of her body: spine, ribs, pelvis, legs and shoulders. Frida was never able to get rid of many health problems caused by the accident. Fortunately, she survived, but was never able to have children again. There are three known attempts by her to carry a child, each of which ended in miscarriage.
Young, plump vitality, open to the world and bringing light and joy into him, Frida, who just yesterday was running to classes and dreaming of becoming a doctor, is now chained to a hospital bed. She had to undergo dozens of surgeries and spend hundreds of hours in hospitals to save her life. Now she can’t look at white coats without disgust - she’s so tired of hospitals. But, no matter how sad it all may seem, this period became the beginning of her new life.
Bedridden, unable to walk or take care of herself, Frida Kahlo discovered her talent. To avoid going crazy from boredom, Frida painted her bandage corset. The girl liked the activity and started drawing.
Frida Kahlo's first paintings appeared in a hospital room. Her parents ordered her a special stretcher so that Frida could paint while lying down. A mirror was installed under the ceiling. Her father brought her his oil paints. And Frida began to create. Frida Kahlo's first self-portraits gradually began to appear. Below is one of them - “Self-portrait in a velvet dress.”
In the hospital, Frida realized that even if she could not tell people all her pain with words, she could easily do it through paint and canvas. This is how a new one was “born” mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
Personal life
Speaking about the biography of Frida Kahlo, it is absolutely impossible to ignore the person who played a key role in her life. This man's name is Diego Rivera.
“There have been two accidents in my life. The first is a tram, the second is Diego Rivera. The second one is worse."
This famous quote by Frida Kahlo very accurately reflects the difficult character of her husband and the overall relationship of the Mexican couple. If the first tragedy, having mutilated Frida’s body, pushed her to creativity, then the second left indelible scars on her soul, developing both pain and talent.
Diego Rivera was a successful Mexican muralist. Not only his artistic talent, but also his political convictions - he was a supporter of communist ideas - and countless love affairs made his name famous. Frida Kahlo's future husband was not particularly handsome; he was a rather obese, somewhat clumsy man; in addition, they were separated by a huge age difference - 21 years. But, despite this, he managed to win the heart of the young artist.
Frida Kahlo's husband actually became the center of the universe for her. She frantically painted his portraits, forgave his endless betrayals and was ready to forget his betrayals.
Love or betrayal?
The romance between Frida and Diego had it all: unbridled passion, extraordinary devotion, great love inextricably linked with betrayal, jealousy and pain.
Look at the picture below. This is "The Broken Column", which Frida wrote in 1944, reflecting her sorrows.
Inside the body, once full of life and energy, a collapsing pillar can be seen. The support of this body is the spine. But there are also nails. Lots of nails that represent the pain brought by Diego Rivera. As mentioned above, he was not ashamed to cheat on Frida. Frida’s sister became his next mistress, which turned out to be a blow for her. Diego responded to this like this: “This is just physical attraction. Are you saying it hurts? But no, it's just a couple of scratches."
Very soon, one of Frida Kahlo’s paintings will receive a title based on these words: “Just a few scratches!”
Diego Rivera was truly a man with a very complex character. However, this is what inspired the artist Frida Kahlo. It inspired through pain, connecting two strong personalities ever more tightly. He exhausted her, but at the same time he loved and respected her immensely.
Significant paintings of Frida Kahlo
Looking at the considerable number of self-portraits that the Mexican artist left behind, there is no doubt that for her they were not just a way to express her creative impulses, but above all an opportunity to tell the world the story of her life - a complex and dramatic life. It is worth paying attention to the titles of the paintings themselves: “Broken Column”, “Just a Few Scratches!”, “Self-Portrait in a Necklace of Thorns”, “Two Fridas”, “Self-Portrait on the Border between Mexico and the United States”, “Wounded Deer” and other. The names are very specific and indicative. In total, there are 55 self-portraits of Frida Kahlo, and according to this indicator, she is a real record holder among artists! By comparison, the brilliant impressionist Vincent van Gogh painted himself only about 20 times.
Where is Frida Kahlo's property now kept?
Today, in addition to the official English-language website, many of Frida's surviving self-portraits can be seen in the Frida Kahlo Museum in Coyoacan (Mexico). There is also an opportunity to get acquainted with the life and delve into the work of the original artist, since it was in this house that she spent most of her life. The museum staff does their best not to disturb the extravagant atmosphere that was created by this extraordinary woman.
Let's take a closer look at some self-portraits.
In the early 1930s, Frida Kahlo traveled to America with her husband. The artist did not like this country and was convinced that they lived there solely for the sake of money.
Look at the picture. On America's side there are pipes, factories, and equipment. Everything is shrouded in clouds of smoke. On the Mexican side, on the contrary, flowers, luminaries and ancient idols are visible. This is how the artist shows how dear traditions and connections with nature and antiquity are to her, which cannot be found in America. In order to stand out from the background of fashionable American women, Frida did not stop wearing national clothes and retained the features inherent in Mexican women.
In 1939, Frida painted one of her iconic self-portraits - “Two Fridas”, in which she reveals the wounds tormenting her soul. This is where the very special, unique style of Frida Kahlo manifests itself. For many, this work is overly revealing and personal, but perhaps this is where the true power lies. human personality- is it about not being afraid to admit and show your weaknesses?
Polio, ridicule from peers, a serious accident that divided life into “before” and “after,” a difficult love story... Along with the self-portrait, another famous quote from Frida Kahlo appeared: “I am my soulmate, and to my beloved tormentor Diego Rivera You won’t be able to break me.”
Like most Mexicans, symbols and signs had special meaning for Frida. Like her husband, Frida Kahlo was a communist and did not believe in God, but due to the fact that her mother was Catholic, she was well versed in Christian symbolism.
So in this self-portrait, the image of the crown of thorns serves as a parallel with the crown of thorns of Jesus. Butterflies flutter over Frida's head - a well-known symbol of resurrection.
Frida paints a portrait in 1940 after her divorce from Diego Rivera, and therefore the monkey can be taken as an unambiguous hint of behavior ex-husband. On Frida's neck there is a hummingbird - a symbol of good luck. Perhaps this is how the artist expresses hope for a quick release from torment?
The theme of this work is close to the “Broken Column” we have already discussed. Here Frida again bares her soul to the viewer, reflecting on the emotional and physical pain she experiences.
The artist depicts herself as a graceful deer, whose body is pierced by arrows. Why did you choose this animal? There are suggestions that the artist associated suffering and death with him.
During the period when the self-portrait was being created, Frida’s health began to rapidly deteriorate. She developed gangrene, which required immediate amputation. Every second of Frida's life brought her excruciating pain. Hence the tragic and frightening in its doom motives of her latest self-portraits.
Dying Taunt
Frida Kahlo passed away on July 13, 1954. Contemporaries more than once spoke about her as an interesting woman and amazing person. Even a brief acquaintance with the biography of Frida Kahlo leaves no doubt that fate has truly prepared for her hard life full of suffering and pain. Despite this, Frida last days she loved life and, like a magnet, attracted people to her.
Her last painting is Viva la Vida. Sandias also expresses a defiance of death and a willingness to persevere until the end, as clearly indicated by the red words: “Long live life!”
Question for art critics
Many are convinced that Frida Kahlo is a surrealist artist. In fact, she herself was rather cool about this title. Frida's creativity, distinguished by its originality, is interpreted differently by everyone. Some believe that this is naive art, others call folk art. And yet the scales tip towards surrealism. Why? In conclusion, we present two arguments. Do you agree with them?
- Frida Kahlo's paintings are not real and are a figment of the imagination. It is impossible to reproduce them in the earthly dimension.
- Her self-portraits are firmly connected to the subconscious. If we compare him with the recognized genius of surrealism Salvador Dali, then we can draw the following analogy. In his works, he played with the subconscious, as if walking through the land of dreams and shocking the audience. Frida, on the contrary, exposed her soul on canvas, thereby attracting the viewer to her and conquering the world of art.
The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo faced so many trials that one cannot envy her. Small and fragile, she had incredible inner strength that managed to overcome all adversity. The story of her life is a story of continuous struggle, love and hatred, friendship and betrayal, creative ups and downs.
Her paintings depict a life full of tragedy. Her own life, which she desperately tried to understand...
early years
Frida Kahlo was born in the Mexico City suburb of Coyoacan on July 6, 1907. Her father, who was a photographer, was a German Jew, and her mother was of Mexican and Indian descent. Frida was the third child in the family.
At the age of 6, the girl suffered from polio, as a result of which she limped all her life. Her right leg was several centimeters shorter than her left, which is why her peers called her “wooden leg.” Difficulties in such early age only strengthened Frida’s character. To spite everyone, she, overcoming the pain, played football with the guys, went swimming and boxing classes.
At the age of 15, Kahlo entered one of the best preparatory schools, where she planned to study medicine. She quickly gained authority by creating the Kachuchas group with several students. At this time she was already painting, but she did not take her painting seriously. Everything changed in 1923 when she met the artist Diego Rivera.
Frida, like a little girl, walked around Diego all the time, trying to attract his attention. She told everyone that she would marry him, and in the end she did. However, first Kahlo had to go through real hell.
In 1925, Frida was in a terrible car accident. The bus she was traveling in crashed into a tram. The iron rod of the pantograph entered the girl, damaging the uterus and breaking the hip bone. Her spine was broken in three places, her right leg was crushed, and her ribs were broken. The doctors threw up their hands in horror, but after undergoing more than thirty operations, she survived. For a whole year Frida was bedridden. Gradually she got back on her feet, but she could no longer have children.
During this difficult time for Kahlo, Diego Rivera was nearby. He supported her as best he could. It was thanks to him that Frida believed in herself and pulled through. The artist taught her a lot about painting. He was the first to discover her talent for drawing.
Captivated by passions
The dizzying romance between Kahlo and Rivera ended in marriage. In 1929 they became husband and wife. She was 22 years old, he was 43. They were brought together not only by painting, but also by communist ideals. Stormy living together two extraordinary personalities became a legend. Diego loved women and cheated on his wife on occasion. Frida knew this, but she could not do anything. Later she said that there were two accidents in her life: one was a car, the other was Diego. After the wedding, the newlyweds settled in the "blue house", which was located in a wealthy area of Mexico City.
>At the end of the 20s, Diego Rivera was invited to work in the USA. The couple spent several years in America, because of which the artist was expelled from the Communist Party. Frida also left after him, but joined again in 1933. Living abroad made her feel more acutely the injustice of the social system and the importance of national culture. The artist began collecting ancient works of art, was more sensitive to Mexican culture, and wore National costumes. In a certain way, this influenced her work.
In 1937, Soviet revolutionary Leon Trotsky appeared in Kahlo's life. Fleeing persecution at home, he found refuge in Mexico, in the house of Diego and Frida. There are many legends about the relationship between Trotsky and Kahlo, but how true they are is unknown. According to the most common version, the Soviet revolutionary fell madly in love with a temperamental Mexican woman. She, captivated by communist ideas, could not refuse such a great figure. They began an affair, but Trotsky’s jealous wife strangled him in the bud. Soon they left the "blue house".
In 1939, Kahlo's work was first seen in Europe: several of her paintings were shown in Paris as part of an exhibition of Mexican art. They had an incredible impression on everyone, and one work was even acquired by the Louvre. At the same time, Frida's health problems worsened. Powerful drugs designed to reduce suffering changed her state of mind. And after a while they no longer helped cope with the pain.
In 1950, the artist underwent several operations on her spine, after which she spent a year in the hospital. She could no longer move independently and was forced to use a wheelchair. And soon Frida lost her right leg.
In 1953, a large solo exhibition of Kahlo was organized in Mexico. She was brought to the gallery straight from the hospital. Despite the fact that her condition was serious, she found the strength to sing and have fun. But in not a single self-portrait of that period did the artist smile: a gloomy, serious face, a stern look, tightly compressed lips.
On July 13, 1954, Frida Kahlo died of pneumonia. Some of the artist's friends suggested that the cause of death was a drug overdose, but there is no evidence for this version. The farewell ceremony for Frida was attended by all prominent artists and Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas.
Despite a life full of suffering and pain, Frida Kahlo was a liberated, extroverted person. She smoked heavily, drank alcohol in excess, sang obscene songs and was openly bisexual. The artist’s work is viewed differently. Some admire her paintings, while others are disgusted by them. But one thing is clear: she was a great woman.
Frida Kahlo de Rivera(Spanish) Frida Kahlo de Rivera), or Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo Calderon(Spanish) Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo Calderon ; Coyoacan, Mexico City, July 6 - July 13), is a Mexican artist best known for her self-portraits.
Mexican culture and the art of the peoples of pre-Columbian America had a noticeable influence on her work. Frida Kahlo's artistic style is sometimes characterized as naïve art or folk art. The founder of surrealism, Andre Breton, ranked her among the surrealists.
She was in poor health throughout her life - she suffered from polio from the age of six, and also suffered a serious car accident as a teenager, after which she had to undergo numerous operations that affected her entire life. In 1929, she married the artist Diego Rivera, and, like him, supported the Communist Party.
Encyclopedic YouTube
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✪ Frida Kahlo, “Frida and Diego Rivera”, 1931
✪ Frida Kahlo, Mexican artist (narrated by Yuri Sokolov)
✪ Frida Calo-Mexican artist XX century. Gallery of works
✪ Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Love story.
Subtitles
We are in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and in front of us is a portrait of Frida Kahlo - "Frida and Diego Rivera", painted in 1931. This picture belongs to early works Frida Kahlo. They both lived in San Francisco, and this painting can be seen in this magnificent location. They were here because Diego was invited to paint the walls. By that time he was already famous artist in Mexico, and he was invited to work in the United States. He was about to open his solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. And, it seems to me, this was only the second personal exhibition that took place in this museum. Right. The first exhibition was dedicated to the works of Matisse. And it was a very unusual company. About a year later, Abbie Rockefeller, who of course co-founded the Museum of Modern Art, wanted Picasso and then Matisse to do a huge mural in the hallway. They both refused, and her choice fell on River. This was a very unusual company. But this isn't about Rivera. We'll talk about Frida. Yes. Next to him she looks so small, weak and tender. It amazes me how she looks at us with her head bowed, and he seems so stocky, and his gaze is directed directly at us. My point is that she portrayed him in such a way that we could see his massive figure. And she herself, unlike him, seems to be floating in the air. He's so down to earth. Those massive boots of his. The girl’s dress does not touch the floor, and this gives her a certain lightness and airiness. It is also imparted by tilting the head, as you already said. Yes. We can see the wavy curves in the scarf the girl is wearing, in her necklace, and in the ribbon on her head, and in the frills on her skirt. Her feminine curves contrast so much with his massiveness. And there is symbolism in all the items of clothing that you mentioned. Both in his suit and in hers. Absolutely. Her costume is a reflection of her Mexican cultural heritage. It reflects folklore traditions, trying to revive them, and denotes the pride and importance of this cultural heritage. This double portrait against a background of empty space also has its origins in the colonial artistic traditions of Mexico. Diego is shown wearing his work shirt under his suit. And this is a very interesting combination, which, on the one hand, indicates belonging to the working class, and on the other hand, speaks of its seriousness. Its painting tradition comes from Mexican artists who, in the 1920s, painted murals in an attempt to build artistic traditions, at the Mexican Revolution, and created art for the people. He is depicted as a worker. Their hands amaze me. Her hand seems to hover over his. It's like she's letting go of his hand. The curious thing is that he is holding a palette and brushes in his hands, although this is her painting. She lives her life in the picture and looks at us. It seems to me that this is how the artist expresses her independence. Diego stands firmly on his feet and does not move. His hands are in front of us and he is open to her. But this tilt of the head gives her some movement. And she just raises her hand, bows her head, and her gaze is directed at us. Look up and you will see a flying bird carrying a banner. The museum staff translated this inscription into English, and it reads: “Here you see me, Frida Kahlo, with my beloved husband, Diego Rivera. This portrait was painted by me in such a wonderful city as San Francisco, California State, for our friend, Albert Bender. This was in April 1931." Albert Bender was one of the founders of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Subtitles by the Amara.org community
Biography
Experts believe that the 1940s are the artist’s heyday, the time of her most interesting and mature works.
Exhibitions
The painting “Roots” was exhibited in 2005 at the Tate Gallery in London, and Kahlo’s personal exhibition in this museum became one of the most successful in the history of the gallery - about 370 thousand people visited it.
Cost of paintings
The record for the cost of Kahlo's paintings remains another self-portrait from 1929, sold in 2000 for $4.9 million (with an initial estimate of 3-3.8 million).
House-museum
The house in Coyoacan was built three years before Frida was born on a small piece of land. With thick exterior walls, a flat roof, one floor of living space, and a layout that kept the rooms always cool and all opening onto the courtyard, it was almost the epitome of a colonial house. It stood just a few blocks from the central city square. From the outside, the house on the corner of Londres Street and Allende Street looked just like others in Coyoacan, an old residential area in the southwestern suburbs of Mexico City. For 30 years, the appearance of the house did not change. But Diego and Frida made it the way we know it: a house in the prevailing blue color with elegant high windows, decorated in traditional Indian style, a house full of passion.
The entrance to the house is guarded by two giant Judases, their twenty-foot-tall papier-mâché figures making gestures as if inviting each other to a conversation.
Inside, Frida's palettes and brushes lie on the work table as if she had just left them there. Next to Diego Rivera's bed lies his hat, his work robe, and his huge boots. The large corner bedroom has a glass display case. Above it is written: “Frida Kahlo was born here on July 7, 1910.” The inscription appeared four years after the artist’s death, when her house became a museum. Unfortunately, the inscription is inaccurate. As Frida's birth certificate shows, she was born on July 6, 1907. But choosing something more significant than the insignificant facts, she decided that she was born not in 1907, but in 1910, the year the Mexican Revolution began. Since she was a child during the revolutionary decade and lived among the chaos and blood-stained streets of Mexico City, she decided that she was born along with this revolution.
Another inscription adorns the bright blue and red walls of the courtyard: “Frida and Diego lived in this house from 1929 to 1954.” It reflects the sentimental ideal attitude to marriage, which is again at odds with reality. Before Diego and Frida's trip to the USA, where they spent 4 years (until 1934), they lived in this house negligibly. In 1934-1939 they lived in two houses built especially for them in the residential area of San Angel. Then followed long periods when, preferring to live independently in a studio in San Angel, Diego did not live with Frida at all, not to mention the year when both Rivers separated, divorced and remarried. Both inscriptions embellished reality. Like the museum itself, they are part of the legend of Frida.
Commercialization of the name
IN beginning of XXI century, Venezuelan entrepreneur Carlos Dorado created the Frida Kahlo Corporation Foundation, to which the relatives of the great artist granted the right to commercially use Frida’s name. Within a few years, a line of cosmetics, a brand of tequila, sports shoes, jewelry, ceramics, corsets and lingerie, as well as beer with the name Frida Kahlo.
In art
The bright and extraordinary personality of Frida Kahlo is reflected in works of literature and cinema.
Heritage
Asteroid 27792 Fridakahlo, discovered on February 20, 1993 by Erik Elst, was named in honor of Frida Kahlo on September 26, 2007. On August 30, 2010, the Bank of Mexico issued a new 500-peso banknote, which featured Frida and her 1949 painting on the back. Love's Embrace of the Universe, Earth, (Mexico), I, Diego, and Mr. Xólotl, and on the front side of which her husband Diego was depicted. On July 6, 2010, on the anniversary of Frida's birth, a doodle was released in her honor.
On March 21, 2001, Frida became the first Mexican woman to be featured on a U.S. stamp.
In 1994, American jazz flautist and composer James Newton released an album inspired by Kahlo entitled Suite for Frida Kahlo, on AudioQuest Music.
Notes
- CLARA - 2008.
- RKDartists
- Internet Speculative Fiction Database - 1995.
- Frida Kahlo (undefined) . Smithsonian.com. Retrieved February 18, 2008. Archived October 17, 2012.(English)
- Frida - German name from the word "peace", (Friede/Frieden); "e" ceased to appear in the name around 1935
- Herrera, Hayden. A Biography of Frida Kahlo. - New York: HarperCollins, 1983. - ISBN 978-0-06-008589-6.(English)
- Frida Kahlo by Adam G. Klein (English)
- Kahlo, Frida // Great Russian Encyclopedia. - 2008. - T. 12. - P. 545. - ISBN 978-5-85270-343-9.
- Lozano, Luis-Martín (2007), p. 236 (Spanish)
- Hayden Herrera: Frida. Biographie de Frida Kahlo.Übersetzt aus dem Englischen von Philippe Beaudoin. Editions Anne Carrière, Paris 1996, S. 20.
- Frida Kahlo"s father wasn"t Jewish after all
- Frida Kahlo (1907–1954), Mexican Painter (undefined) . Biography. Retrieved February 19, 2013. Archived April 14, 2013.
- Andrea, Kettenmann. Frida Kahlo: Pain and Passion. - Köln: Benedikt Taschen Verlag GmbH, 1993. - P. 3. - ISBN 3-8228-9636-5.
- Budrys, Valmantas (February 2006). “Neurological Deficits in the Life and Work of Frida Kahlo” . European Neurology. 55 (1): 4-10. DOI:10.1159/000091136. ISSN (print), ISSN 1421-9913 (Online) 0014-3022 (print), ISSN 1421-9913 (Online) Check the |issn= parameter (help in English). PMID . Verified 2008-01-22. Uses obsolete parameter |month= (
The life story of the inimitable Mexican artist, communist and rebel Frida Kahlo, who, despite her physical ailments, drove men crazy. Today her works hang in best museums the world and are scattered at auctions in a matter of seconds.
At the age of 18, Frida was in a terrible accident: the bus she was riding on collided with a tram.
The result is a triple fracture of the spine, a triple fracture of the pelvis, eleven fractures of the bones of the right leg, a crushed foot, fractures of the collarbones and ribs. On top of everything, Frida found herself literally impaled on an iron railing, which pierced her stomach and uterus.
The doctors saved her, she spent a year in bed in an orthopedic corset, but the pain remained forever. Unbearable physical suffering resulted in brilliant and equally sick painting - a kind of autobiographical sur-confession.
A wheelchair and a cast are her almost constant means of transportation and outfit. 32 operations, long months in hospitals.A special stretcher that allowed you to write while lying down.
But I wanted to live.She tried to waltz in the stroller, and painted butterflies on the cast - “I laugh at death so that it doesn’t take away the best that is in me...”
From 1944 until her death in 1954, Frida kept a diary.It sat in a locked archive of the Mexican government for forty years before it was published, becoming an instant bestseller.
170 pages with watercolors and collages, memories of childhood, notes about illness and painful love for her husband: “There were two accidents in my life: one was when a bus crashed into a tram, the other was Diego.”
“Diego is the beginning, Diego is my child, Diego is my friend, Diego is the artist, Diego is my father, Diego is my lover, Diego is my husband, Diego is my mother, Diego is myself, Diego is everything.”
She sought the love of the great Mexican macho for a long time.Diego Rivera was 20 years older, scary, fat and adored by women.The list of his mistresses was incalculable. And yet, Frida vowed to marry him and have a son.
The first came true - the sexy lame woman with fused eyebrows still won the heart of the famous painter.
But the passionate dream of a child remained a dream, the result of that accident was three miscarriages and severe depression, aggravated by Diego’s constant infidelities.
"I tried to drown my sorrows, but these bastards learned to swim..."
Rivera himself liked to portray himself as a fat toad with someone's heart in his hand.
The more I love women, the more I want to make them suffer,” he said.
In the end, Rivera seduced Kahlo's younger sister, Christina, which was the last straw, and he and Frida divorced.
But a year later they got married again; Frida couldn’t live without Diego.
True, she did not make a respectable wife. Frida had a lively and liberated extroverted nature, and her daily speech was littered with foul language. A tomboy in her youth, she hasn't lost her zest in later years. Kahlo smoked heavily, drank alcohol in excess (especially tequila), was openly bisexual, sang obscene songs and told guests about her wild parties equally indecent jokes.
Frida’s connection with Trotsky was not advertised for a long time - in the 1960s, the paintings of the communist Diego were very popular in the USSR, but no one remembered his wife.
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This is because while in Mexico, the legendary Soviet People's Commissar first became close to the Rivera family on the basis of Marxist ideas, but soon completely lost his head over Frida.
“You gave me back my youth and took away my sanity. With you, I feel like a seventeen-year-old boy,” Trotsky wrote in one of his love letters to Kahlo.
Rivera suddenly became terribly jealous. It was rumored that if it weren’t for Mercader’s ice ax, Trotsky would definitely have died a painful death from Diego’s heavy hand.
The disease progressed.Frida was taken to her first solo exhibition by ambulance and wheeled into the hall on a gurney.
Smiling, with a flower in her hair and an invariable cigarette.
She painted this picture eight days before her death.
Viva la vida - “Long live life.”
I drew a sunny watermelon while lying down, with an amputated leg, and finally added:
“I look forward to leaving cheerfully and hope never to return. Frida"
And yet the best words in Frida’s diary, which should become a slogan for everyone, are these: Tree of hope, stand up straight.
Diego Rivera, Frida KahloIt seems that she herself has just stepped out of her own canvas: tiny height, smoothly combed black hair, a heavy braid around her head, always closed, almost surreal wide eyebrows, flashy, even vulgar makeup, and even a limp to boot - not a hint of femininity or beauty. Her name was Frida Kahlo, amazingly ugly, amazingly talented. Frida didn't have art education, working intuitively, copying the reality that she alone saw. Kahlo has 142 paintings in his arsenal, 55 of which are self-portraits, another twenty are disguised self-portraits.
She was born in 1907 in Mexico, suffered a serious illness in childhood, as a result of which she was left with a lifelong limp, and eighteen years later she was in a terrible accident that turned the artist’s whole life upside down. On September 17, 1925, in Mexico City, at an intersection near the San Juan market, a tram crashed into the bus in which Frida was traveling. One of the iron fragments of the carriage pierced Frida right through at the level of the pelvis and exited through the vagina. “So I lost my virginity,” she said later, clutching an eternal cigarette in her teeth.
Two years after the collision between the tram and the bus in which Frida was, Kahlo spent in bed without the slightest hope of ever getting back on her feet - a serious spinal injury left the girl no chance. To forget about the endless pain and melancholy, Frida took up her brushes and paints. It was then that her passion for self-portraits arose. This happened for the only reason - the artist had no opportunity to go outside to see anything other than herself. Lying in bed and looking into a mirror specially installed near the pillow, she recreated her face over and over again. One day, the work of the young self-taught artist was seen by a fairly famous communist artist, Diego Rivera. Frida's canvases captivated the eminent master. From that moment on, the fate of the Mexican woman was sealed - Diego would become Frida's eternal companion until her death, and probably for many centuries after. Ironically, Rivera, who once revealed Frida Kahlo to the world, is now practically forgotten, but Frida’s fame lives on and seems to be growing every year.
Despite the disappointing diagnosis, Kahlo still stood on her feet, which now, in addition to her limp, were “decorated” by numerous scars - it would seem, who would look at such a beauty? But Diego, far from Apollo himself, saw in Frida something other than earthly traits.
Frida did not come to the wedding dressed up, as if proud of her unattractive appearance. Her only decoration was a flower carelessly stuck in her hair. Then, on the first day family life Diego showed his far from angelic character. The 42-year-old newlywed, having had too much alcohol, suddenly grabbed a pistol and began firing it into the air. The exhortations only inflamed the wild artist. The first family scandal occurred. Frida went to her parents. True, then the lovers finally reunited. The newlyweds moved to their first apartment, and then to the Blue House, which later became the Frida Kahlo Museum, on Londres Street in Coyaocan, the most bohemian district of Mexico City, where they lived for many years.
In one of his paintings, where Frida is in Once again depicted herself, the artist lies in a bed in a mountainous desert. A disproportionately large ladder is installed above the bed, supporting a huge funnel inserted into the mouth of the lying woman. The funnel is filled with red meat, skulls, fish, and strange but repulsive objects. The moon barely shines in the sky and the sun, like a tomato, shines brightly. The canvas is called “Without Hope”. All the years spent married to Diego, Frida spoke to him through her creativity. The couple could not have any other dialogue - both were terribly busy... with love. Rivera, despite the impressive age difference (Diego was twenty years older than his wife), was more than indifferent to family values - he happily walked to the left, changing lovers like gloves. Frida did not lag behind him - her love stories were significantly inferior to Rivera in quantity, but superior in quality: during her short life, Kahlo managed to charm Trotsky and begin an affair with Spanish artist Jose Bartoli.
Frida Kahlo and Bartoli met in Spain when she was recovering from another spinal operation. Returning to Mexico, she broke off the physical relationship with Bartoli, but their secret romance continued at a distance. The correspondence lasted for several years, affecting the artist’s painting, her health and relationship with her husband. More recently, more than 100 pages of love correspondence were sold at auction in New York for fabulous money - Frida's admirers valued the letters at 137 thousand dollars. “I don't know how to write love letters. But I want to say that my whole being is open to you. Since I fell in love with you, everything has been mixed up and filled with beauty... love is like a fragrance, like a current, like rain,” Frida Kahlo wrote in 1946 in her address to Bartoli, who moved to New York. escaping horrors civil war in Spain.
To this day, Frida is credited with another novel: with Vladimir Mayakovsky. True, according to historians, the version of possible love between the poet and the artist is not viable. The trouble is that the two greats most likely never met, despite the photo of them together circulating on the Internet. Experts are sure that the photo is fake. Although, given the similarity of views of Frida and Vladimir, as well as passionate nature both, it is quite possible to assume that if they met, it would not have happened without an affair.
Without exception, all of Frida’s love stories are shrouded in mystery - none of them could be proven; we can only guess with whom the brilliant Kahlo sought solace. Among her lovers, there is also traditionally only one woman - singer Chavela Vargas. The reason for the gossip was the candid photographs of the girls, where Frida, dressed in a man’s suit, was drowning in the arms of Chavela. However, Diego, who openly cheated on his wife, did not pay attention to her hobbies with women; such connections seemed frivolous to him, which cannot be said about Frida’s relationships with men. Over and over again, huge scandals broke out in the house with bright blue walls, each time ending in the same way: Diego and Frida made peace, realizing the complete impossibility of parting with each other, and went in search of new ones. love adventures.
However, not even the strongest psychological attachment can withstand the onslaught of external obstacles, and every year of Frida’s marriage they only became more numerous. She is tired. In 1939, Kahlo and Rivera officially divorced. Just one year later, Diego, suddenly realizing his fatal mistake, found Frida and declared that he wanted to marry her again. She agreed without further hesitation. The truth has set conditions: they will not have sexual relations, and they will conduct financial affairs separately. Together they will only pay for household expenses. This is such a strange marriage contract. But Diego was so happy to have his Frida back that he willingly signed this document.
For the last ten years of her life, Frida kept a diary, completely covering the pages with her husband’s name and drawings. “I only want one thing: for no one to hurt him... If I had health, I would give it entirely to Diego,” Kahlo wrote on one of last sheets. Throughout her entire adult life, spent near her husband, Frida could not express in words what she felt for her lover. Her love arose and dissolved again in pictures, screamed, cried and could not break out - we always lack words to tell everything about our love. Happy is the one who only needs to say “I love you” to remain satisfied.
Shortly before her death, Frida wrote down on a piece of paper something that had haunted her for many years: “In saliva, in paper, in eclipse, in all the lines, in all the colors, in all the jugs, in my chest, outside, inside... DIEGO in my mouth, in my heart, in my madness, in my dreams, in blotting paper, in the tip of a pen, in pencils, in landscapes, in food, in metal, in imagination, in illnesses, in shop windows, in his tricks. , in his eyes, in his lips, in his lies.”
Frida died at the age of 47 from pneumonia. Having undergone countless operations, getting back on her feet after a triple fracture of the spine, she, the great, unique Frida, who loved, the beloved, ceased to be from a lingering cold on Tuesday, July 13, 1954. The last entry in her diary read: “I am cheerfully waiting to leave and hope never to return. Frida." But she returns, every time, every day, the amazing, ugly Frida Kahlo lives among us, who knew everything about love.