"I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best." Born Magadalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderon on July 6th in 1907, a self taught Mexican painter mostly famous for her self portraits. Her work was sometimes characterized as naive or folk art due to the bright colours, dramatic symbolism and primitive style of the Mexican culture and Amerindian culture traditions that played an important role in her work. Rejecting the surrealist label, Frida believed her work reflected more on her reality than her dreams. "Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly." Suffering from long life health problems mostly caused by a a traffic incident she was involved in as a teenager, this was told through majority of her paintings as they related to her tough experiences with physical and psychological suffering.
Abandoning her medicine studies after the accident, Frida than began to paint to occupy herself over a three month recovery. Later heavily influenced by Mexico's most famous artist Diego Rivera that she always admired after approaching him at the the Public Ministry of Education with four of her paintings and asked if he found her gifted. Recognizing her talent, Frida's work impressed Rivera and he replied "You have got talent." Then later giving her many insights about her work to encourage her artistic development with positive and encouraging comments that strengthened Frida to pursue a career as an artist. "I never painted my dreams, I painted my own reality."
Falling very ill during the 1950s due to the amputation of her right lower leg caused by gangrene then bronchopneumonia later occurring followed by anxiety attacks that led her to increasing her morphine consumption. Passing away on July 13th in 1954, Frida's work is celebrated in Mexico as emblematic of national and indigenous tradition and by feminists for its uncompromising depiction of the female experience and form. Since 1948, her former home in Coyoacan that holds and displays her ashes after being cremated that now rest in a pre-Columbian urn is now a well maintained museum housing a number of artworks and numerous mementos and artifacts from her personal life.
"I hope that leaving is joyful; and I hope never to return."
- Frida Kahlo
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