July 6 marks the 108th anniversary of the birth of the most famous mexican woman 20th century - Frida Kahlo / Frida Kahlo.

• The famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, famous for her eccentricity and unique talent, was born in 1907 in the capital of Mexico. The girl's parents were a Jewish artist who moved from Germany, and a Spaniard born in America. Such an unusual combination of genes could not but affect the character of Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo i Calderon.
• Unfortunately, very early, at the age of six, she was seriously ill with polio. The disease affected the development of the child, the girl's right leg stopped growing and subsequently became shorter and thinner than the left.
• Twelve years later, another misfortune happened to the future artist - she gets into a car accident, during which the iron reinforcement of the tram pierces through her body, passes through her stomach and hip bone. What would be the result of the surgical treatment of the victim, the doctors could not immediately guess, because they identified a spinal injury in three places. The injury led to immobility, which for a long time chained the young girl to bed.

  Frida Kahlo bedridden




• The tragic event still had a positive result, because inactivity quickly became unbearable for Kahlo - she took up the brush. At first, the girl painted self-portraits. A mirror was hung over her bed so that Frida could see herself in it.

  
  

• After a while, Kahlo decides to study, she enters in 1929 in National Institute Mexico. Energetic, full of love the Mexican woman put all her strength into life to start walking again. But, even having got rid of the cell-bed, once again feeling the freedom of movement, Frida does not quit favourite hobby- painting. She attends classes at an art school, improving her unique style.
• In 1928, Kahlo entered communist party, and soon her work was highly appreciated by Diego Rivera, a well-known communist artist in Latin America. The acquaintance continued, and the talented couple became husband and wife.

  

• There was a passionate, expressive relationship between Diego and Frida, fanned by a halo of romance. The couple loved life, always had an active life position, were in the center public life. Even Diego's numerous betrayals could not change the attitude of his wife in love towards him.
• The spinal injuries experienced did not go unnoticed, Frida often experienced severe and excruciating pain. But this did not prevent her from actively communicating with people, having fun, attracting the attention of many men. Periodically, she needed to go to the hospital in order to slightly improve her condition. Also, wearing a special corset made life very difficult; Frida rarely parted with him. And in 1952, unfortunately, due to complications, she had to amputate her leg, up to the knee.

  Frida Kahlo on the cover of Vogue magazine (1937)

  
  

• But health problems did not become a reason to quit painting. On the contrary, in 1953, Frida Kahlo offered her first solo exhibition to the attention of connoisseurs of painting. Her paintings, mostly self-portraits, have allowed many to see the unique beauty of the artist. Even though there was no smile on her face, it attracts, makes you stop and slowly consider every feature.
• Another passion of the famous artist is the story of her beloved Mexico. She, like her husband Diego Rivera, collected various monuments of culture and art. Collected exhibits on given time kept in the Blue House.

  
  

• The bright life of an eccentric artist, unfortunately, ended prematurely. When Frida was only 47 years old, she fell ill with pneumonia. The weakened organism could not endure this illness, and Frida was still in such young age died. This was a great loss for Mexico, for fans of Kahlo's talent all over the world. It is worth noting that the artist's funeral was attended not only by her friends, but also by many famous writers, artists, the President of Mexico, Lazaro Cardenas.

The life of Frida Kahlo in the artist's diary

In the last year of her life, Frida Kahlo kept a diary, which will be very interesting to see for those who study her biography and work. On the pages of her diary, she wrote down her thoughts, made sketches, collages. The name that appears most often in records is Diego. The artist loved her husband very much, she considered him both a lover, a brother, a child, a colleague in creativity, and a mentor. Numerous diary entries are addressed to Diego, which consists of 170 written pages. You can read in it the memories of childhood, and her painful complaints about the disease and all the difficulties that are associated with it. Frank notes Kahlo led 10 years, but they can illustrate her whole life.

Frida Kahlo working with a Mexican boy

Features of the work of Frida Kahlo and its connection with the culture of Mexico

The main stylistic direction of Kahlo's paintings is surrealism, which is also filled with colorful Mexican motifs. This is how Andre Breton, the founder of the surrealist school, defined the Mexican style. But Frida herself was very negative about such an assessment of her work, as well as those who considered themselves surrealists. She considered everything depicted on her canvases an illustration of real, real life.

Kahlo's work was highly appreciated by famous artists not only Latin America but also USA, Europe. Frida's works were exhibited not only at home, but also in Paris. True, the exhibition was poorly organized. When, at the invitation of Andre Breton, Frida arrived at her exhibition in the French capital, it turned out that the paintings were still at customs. And before the audience, they appeared only six weeks later. But this did not stop the artist from getting a large number of amazing reviews. Moreover, one of the paintings was added to its collection by the magnificent Louvre, and this says a lot.

If Frida Kahlo carefully fenced herself off from surrealism, then she never hid the influence of Mexican folk art on her works. In her paintings, this influence is manifested very subtly and exquisitely. It can be seen that Frida loves her homeland, its history and culture. She enjoyed wearing National costumes, this can be traced even in numerous portraits. Often in the paintings you can see various symbols characteristic of Mexican applied art. The ancient Indian mythology, national traditions affected the creativity. But, against the background of such characteristic Mexican motifs, the paintings also illustrate the influence of painting by European artists. The combination of different schools and traditions, multiplied by complex life milestones, expressive character and became the basis of a unique style.

Paintings by Frida Kahlo

List of paintings Mexican artist very big. Many of the works are unique self-portraits that Frida began to paint while still immobile after a terrible car accident. In her portraits, Kahlo is often depicted in national Mexican costumes. Many works are known all over the world, they were repeatedly exhibited during the life of Kahlo, and after her death. These paintings include the unique canvas “Two Fridas”, “Little Doe”, “Broken Column”, “Self-Portrait. Loose hair. Also in the list of achievements of creativity:

1. "Moses" (1945)
2. "My Dress Is There or New York" (1933)
3. "Fruits of the Earth" (1938)
4. "The Suicide of Dorothy Hale" (1939)
5. "What the Water Gave Me" (1947)
6. "Self-portrait" (1930)
7. "Bus" (1927)
8. "The Girl in the Mask of Death" (1938)
9. "Dream" (1940)
10. "Still Life" (1942)
11. "Mask" (1945)
12. "Self-portrait" (1948)
13. "1945 Magnolia" and many others.

Frida Kahlo painting a portrait

The last work, the still life "Viva la vida" (translated as "Long live life!") perfectly shows the attitude to the world around this amazing woman, whose path was very difficult and painful.
Some of Kahlo's paintings need not only be viewed, but even unraveled. This is a complex painting, attractive and bewitching. You can see Kahlo's paintings in museums in Mexico and other countries, as well as in private collections.

Frida Kahlo House Museum

In the house where I was born famous artist, an interesting, fascinating museum is organized. The building itself was erected a few years before the birth of Frida in Coyocan (a suburb of Mexico City). The architecture of the building is designed in the national Mexican traditions. This, after the organization of the museum, became a great advantage and brought a certain color to the exposition. During their lifetime, Frida and her husband significantly improved both the exterior and the interior. They decorated the room in the traditional Indian style, painted it blue. The furnishings of the house have been preserved as they were under the artist.

The memory of the artist

The life of a unique Mexican woman inspired many film workers and musicians to create works of art dedicated to Frida.

• The film "Frida" (2002). The role of the artist was played by another famous representative of Mexico, Salma Hayek.
• The film "Frida against the backdrop of Frida" (2005). Non-fiction art tape.
• Documentary film The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo (2005).
• Short film Frida Kahlo (1971).
• "The Life and Death of Frida Kahlo" (1976).

In 1994, a well-known jazz flutist from the USA released an entire album dedicated to the artist, Suite for Frida Kahlo. And in 2007, an asteroid was named after the artist.

The image and style of Frida Kahlo:

Salma Hayek in the movie "Frida" photo

Other photos of Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo with her favorite monkey

Biography

Frida Kahlo de Rivera 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. Art style Frida Kahlo is sometimes characterized as naïve art or folk art. The founder of surrealism, Andre Breton, ranked her among the surrealists.

All her life she was in poor health - she suffered from polio from the age of six, and also suffered a serious car accident v adolescence, after which she had to go numerous operations that influenced her entire life. In 1929, she married the painter Diego Rivera, and like him, she supported the Communist Party.

Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, a suburb of Mexico City (she later changed her birth year to 1910, the year of the Mexican Revolution). Her father was photographer Guillermo Kahlo, originally from Germany. According to the widely circulated version, based on Frida's claims, he was of Jewish origin, however, according to later research, he came from a German Lutheran family, whose roots can be traced back to the 16th century. Frida's mother, Matilda Calderon, was a Mexican with Indian roots. Frida Kahlo was the third child in the family. At the age of 6, she suffered from polio, after the illness, lameness remained for life, and her right leg became thinner than her left (which Kahlo hid all her life under long skirts). Such an early experience of the struggle for the right to a full life tempered the character of Frida.

Frida was engaged in boxing and other sports. At the age of 15, she entered the "Preparatory" (National preparatory school), one of best schools Mexico to study medicine. Of the 2,000 students in this school, there were only 35 girls. Frida immediately earned credibility by creating a closed group "Kachuchas" with eight other students. Her behavior was often called outrageous.

In the Preparatory, her first meeting took place with her future husband, the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera, who from 1921 to 1923 worked at the Preparatory School on the painting “Creation”.

At the age of eighteen, on September 17, 1925, Frida had a severe accident. The bus she was on collided with a tram. Frida received serious injuries: a triple fracture of the spine (in the lumbar region), a fracture of the collarbone, broken ribs, a triple fracture of the pelvis, eleven fractures of the bones of the right leg, a crushed and dislocated right foot, and a dislocated shoulder. In addition, her stomach and uterus were pierced with a metal railing, which severely damaged her reproductive function. She was bedridden for a year, and health problems remained for life. Subsequently, Frida had to undergo several dozen operations, not leaving hospitals for months. She, despite her ardent desire, could not become a mother.

It was after the tragedy that she first asked her father for brushes and paints. A special stretcher was made for Frida, which allowed her to write lying down. A large mirror was attached under the canopy of the bed so that she could see herself. The first picture was a self-portrait, which forever determined the main direction of creativity: "I paint myself because I spend a lot of time alone and because I am the topic that I know best."

In 1928 she joined the Mexican Communist Party. Frida Kahlo married Diego Rivera in 1929. He was 43 years old, she was 22. The two artists were brought together not only by art, but also by common political convictions - communist. Their stormy life together has become a legend. Many years later, Frida said: “There were two accidents in my life: one was when the bus crashed into a tram, the other was Diego.” In the 1930s, Frida lived for some time in the United States, where her husband worked. This forced long stay abroad, in a developed industrial country, made her feel national differences more acutely.

Since then, Frida has been especially fond of Mexican folk culture, collecting old works of applied art, and even wearing national costumes in everyday life.

A trip to Paris in 1939, where Frida became a sensation in a thematic exhibition of Mexican art (one of her paintings was even acquired by the Louvre), further developed the patriotic feeling.

In 1937, the Soviet revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky briefly took refuge in the house of Diego and Frida; they began an affair with Frida. It is believed that he was forced to leave them by too obvious passion for the temperamental Mexican.

In the 1940s, Frida's paintings appeared in several notable exhibitions. At the same time, her health problems are getting worse. Medicines and drugs designed to reduce physical suffering change her state of mind, which is vividly reflected in the Diary, which has become a cult among her fans.

In 1953, her first solo exhibition took place in her homeland. By that time, Frida could no longer get out of bed, and she was brought to the opening of the exhibition hospital bed.. Soon, due to the onset of gangrene, her right leg was amputated below the knee.

Frida Kahlo died on July 13, 1954 from pneumonia. Shortly before her death, she left the last entry in her diary: "I hope that the departure will be successful, and I will not return." Some of Frida Kahlo's friends speculated that she died of an overdose, and her death may not have been accidental. However, there is no evidence of this version; an autopsy was not performed.

Farewell to Frida Kahlo took place at the Palace of Fine Arts. In addition to Diego Rivera, the ceremony was attended by Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas and many artists.

Since 1955, Frida Kahlo's Blue House has become a museum in her memory.

Character

Despite a life full of pain and suffering, Frida Kahlo had a lively and liberated extraversive nature, and her daily speech was littered with foul language. Being a tomboy in her youth, she did not lose her ardor in her later years. Kahlo smoked heavily, drank alcohol in excess (especially tequila), was openly bisexual, sang obscene songs and told equally obscene jokes to the guests of her wild parties.

Creation

In the works of Frida Kahlo, it is noticeable very strong influence folk Mexican art, the culture of the pre-Columbian civilizations of America. Her work is full of symbols and fetishes. However, the influence of European painting is also noticeable in it - in early work the enthusiasm of Frida, for example, Botticelli, was clearly manifested. In creativity there is a style of naive art. Big influence Frida Kahlo's style of painting was influenced by her husband, artist Diego Rivera.

Experts believe that the 1940s is the era of the artist's heyday, the time of her most interesting and mature works.

The genre of self-portrait prevails in the work of Frida Kahlo. In these works, the artist metaphorically reflected the events of her life (“Henry Ford Hospital”, 1932, private collection, Mexico City; “Self-portrait with a dedication to Leon Trotsky”, 1937, National Museum"Women in Art", Washington; "Two Fridas", 1939, Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City; "Marxism heals the sick", 1954, Frida Kahlo House Museum, Mexico City).

Exhibitions

In 2003, an exhibition of Frida Kahlo's works and her photographs was held in Moscow.

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.

The cost of paintings

In early 2006, Frida's self-portrait "Roots" ("Raices") was valued by Sotheby's experts at $7 million (original valuation at auction - £4 million). The painting was painted by the artist in oil on sheet metal in 1943 (after her remarriage to Diego Rivera). In the same year, this painting was sold for 5.6 million US dollars, which was a record among Latin American works.

Another self-portrait of 1929, sold in 2000 for 4.9 million dollars (with an initial estimate of 3 - 3.8 million), remains the record for the cost of paintings by Kahlo.

house museum

The house in Coyoacan was built three years before Frida was born on a small piece of land. The thick walls of the outer façade, the flat roof, one residential floor, the layout, in which the rooms were always cool and all opened onto the courtyard, are almost a model of a colonial-style house. It stood only a few blocks from the city's central square. From the outside, the house on the corner of Calle Londres and Calle Allende looked exactly like the others in Coyoacán, an old residential area in the southwest suburbs of Mexico City. For 30 years, the appearance of the house has not changed. But Diego and Frida made it what we know it: a house in the prevailing blue color with elegant high windows, decorated in traditional Indian style, the house full of passion.

The entrance to the house is guarded by two gigantic Judas, their twenty-foot-tall papier-mâché figures gesturing as if inviting each other to talk.

Inside, Frida's palettes and brushes lie on the desktop as if she had just left them there. By Diego Rivera's bed is a hat, his work robe and huge boots. The large corner bedroom has a glass showcase. Above it is written: "Frida Kahlo was born here on July 7, 1910." The inscription appeared four years after the death of the artist, when her house became a museum. Unfortunately, the inscription is inaccurate. According to Frida's birth certificate, she was born on July 6, 1907. But choosing something more significant than 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 in the chaos and blood-drenched streets of Mexico City, she decided that she was born with this revolution.

The bright blue and red walls of the courtyard are decorated with another inscription: "Frida and Diego lived in this house from 1929 to 1954." It reflects the sentimental perfect attitude to marriage, which is again at odds with reality. Before the trip of Diego and Frida to the USA, where they spent 4 years (until 1934), they lived in this house for very little. From 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 parted, divorced and remarried. Both inscriptions embellished reality. Like the museum itself, they are part of the legend of Frida.

Name commercialization

V early XXI century, the Venezuelan entrepreneur Carlos Dorado created the Frida Kahlo Corporation fund, to which the relatives of the great artist granted the right to commercially use the name of Frida. Within a few years, a line of cosmetics, a brand of tequila, sports shoes, jewelry, ceramics, corsets and underwear, as well as beer with the name of Frida Kahlo.

In art

The bright and extraordinary personality of Frida Kahlo is reflected in the works of literature and cinema.

In 2002, the film Frida was filmed, dedicated to the artist. The role of Frida Kahlo was played by Salma Hayek.

In 2005, a non-fiction art film Frida against the backdrop of Frida was shot.

In 1971, the short film "Frida Kahlo" was released, in 1982 - a documentary, in 2000 - a documentary from the "Great Women Artists" series, in 1976 - "The Life and Death of Frida Kahlo", in 2005 - the documentary "Life and times of Frida Kahlo.

The group Alai Oli has a song "Frida" dedicated to her.

Heritage

The asteroid 27792 Fridakahlo, discovered on February 20, 1993 by Eric Elst, was named after Frida Kahlo on September 26, 2007. On August 30, 2010, the Bank of Mexico issued a new 500-peso note featuring Frida and her 1949 painting, 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, the anniversary of Frida's birth, a doodle was released in her honor.

In 1994, American jazz flutist and composer James Newton released an album inspired by Kahlo called Suite for Frida Kahlo on AudioQuest Music.

Text: Maria Mikhantyeva

A retrospective of Frida Kahlo is taking place in St. Petersburg until the end of April- the great Mexican artist, who became the soul and heart of women's painting all over the world. It is customary to tell about Frida's life through the story of overcoming physical pain, however, as is usually the case, this is only one aspect of a complex and multifaceted path. Frida Kahlo was not just the wife of the recognized painter Diego Rivera or a symbol of mental and physical strength - all her life the artist painted, starting from her own internal contradictions, complex relationships with independence and love, talking about who she knew best - herself.

The biography of Frida Kahlo is more or less known to everyone who watched the film Julie Taymor with Salma Hayek: carefree childhood and youth, a terrible accident, an almost accidental passion for painting, acquaintance with the artist Diego Rivera, marriage and the eternal status "everything is complicated." Physical pain, mental pain, self-portraits, abortions and miscarriages, communism, love stories, worldwide fame, slow fading and long-awaited death: “I hope that the departure will be successful and I will not return again,” the sleeping Frida flies into eternity on the bed.

Whether the departure itself was successful, we do not know, but for the first twenty years after it, it seemed that Frida's wish was fulfilled: she was forgotten everywhere except her native Mexico, where a house-museum was opened almost immediately. In the late 1970s, in the wake of interest in women's art and neo-Mexicanism, her work began to occasionally appear at exhibitions. Nevertheless, in 1981, in The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Art, she was given only one line: “Kahlo, Frida. See Rivera, Diego Maria.

“There were two accidents in my life: one was when the bus crashed into a tram, the other was Diego,” Frida said. The first accident made her start painting, the second made her an artist. The first all my life responded with physical pain, the second caused mental pain. These two experiences subsequently became the main themes of her paintings. If the car accident was really a fatal accident (Frida was supposed to ride on another bus, but got off halfway to look for a forgotten umbrella), then complicated relationship(after all, Diego Rivera was not the only one) were inevitable because of the contradictory nature of her, in which strength and independence were combined with sacrifice and obsession.

Frida and Diego Rivera, 1931

I had to learn to be strong as a child: first helping my father survive epileptic attacks, and then coping with the consequences of polio. Frida played football and boxing; at school, she was a member of a gang of "kachuchas" - hooligans and intellectuals. When the leadership educational institution invited Rivera, then already a recognized master, to do the wall painting, she rubbed soap on the steps of the stairs to see how this man with the face of a toad and the physique of an elephant would slip. She considered girls' companies banal, preferred to be friends with boys and met with the most popular and smartest of them, who also studied a few classes older.

But having fallen in love, Frida seemed to lose her mind, which she so appreciated in people. She could literally pursue the object of her passion, bombarding with letters, seducing and manipulating - all in order to then play the role of a faithful companion. That was her first marriage to Diego Rivera. They both cheated, diverged and converged again, but, according to the recollections of friends, Frida often conceded, trying to maintain a relationship. “She treated him like a beloved dog,” one of her friends recalled. - He is with her - as with a favorite thing. Even in the "wedding" portrait of Frida and Diego Rivera, only one of the two artists is depicted with professional attributes, palette and brushes - and this is not Frida.

While Diego painted frescoes for days on end, spending the night in the scaffolding, she carried lunch baskets for him, took care of the bills, saved on medical procedures she needed so much (Diego spent big money on his collection of pre-Columbian statues), listened carefully and accompanied at exhibitions. Under the influence of her husband, her paintings also changed: if Frida wrote the very first portraits, imitating Renaissance artists from art albums, then thanks to Diego, the national traditions of Mexico glorified by the revolution penetrated into them: the naivety of retablo, Indian motifs and the aesthetics of Mexican Catholicism with its theatricalization of suffering, combining the image of bleeding wounds with the splendor of flowers, lace and ribbons.

"Alejandro Gomez Arias", 1928

To please her husband, she even changed her jeans and leather jackets for puffy skirts and became a "Tehuana". This image was completely devoid of any authenticity, since Frida combined clothes and accessories from different social groups and eras, she could wear an Indian skirt with a Creole blouse and earrings by Picasso. In the end, her ingenuity turned this masquerade into a separate art form: starting to dress for her husband, she continued to create unique images for your own pleasure. In her diary, Frida noted that the costume is also a self-portrait; her dresses have become characters in paintings, and now they accompany them at exhibitions. If the paintings were a reflection of the inner storm, then the costumes became her armor. It is no coincidence that a year after the divorce, “Self-portrait with cropped hair” appeared, on which the place of skirts and ribbons was taken by a men's suit - in a similar Frida somehow posed for a family portrait long before meeting Diego.

The first serious attempt to get out of the influence of her husband was the decision to give birth. natural childbirth were impossible, but there was hope for a caesarean section. Frida thrashed about. On the one hand, she passionately desired to continue the race, to stretch further that red ribbon, which she would later depict in the painting “My grandparents, my parents and me”, to get “little Diego” at her disposal. On the other hand, Frida understood that the birth of a child would tie her to the house, interfere with work and alienate Rivera, who was categorically against children. In the first letters to a family friend, Dr. Leo Eloisser, the pregnant Frida asks which option will cause less harm to her health, but, without waiting for an answer, she herself decides to keep the pregnancy and no longer retreats. Paradoxically, the choice that is usually imposed on a woman "by default" in the case of Frida becomes a rebellion against her husband's guardianship.

Unfortunately, the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. Instead of "little Diego", Henry Ford's Hospital was born - one of the saddest works, which began a series of "bloody" paintings. Perhaps this was the first time in the history of art when the artist with the utmost, almost physiological honesty spoke about women's pain, so much so that the legs gave way to men. Four years later, the organizer of her Paris exhibition, Pierre Collet, did not even immediately dare to exhibit these paintings, considering them too shocking.

Finally, that part of a woman's life, which has always been shamefacedly hidden from prying eyes, was revealed
in a work of art

Misfortune haunted Frida: after the death of her child, she survived the death of her mother, and one can only guess what a blow Diego's next novel was for her, this time with her younger sister. She, nevertheless, blamed herself and was ready to forgive, if only not to become a "hysterical" - her thoughts on this matter are painfully similar to the age-old thesis that "". But in the case of Frida, humility and the ability to endure went hand in hand with black humor and irony.

Feeling her secondary importance, the insignificance of her feelings compared to men's, she brought this experience to the point of absurdity in the film " A Few Little Pricks". “I just poked her a few times,” a man who stabbed his girlfriend said at the trial. Having learned about this story from the newspapers, Frida wrote a work full of sarcasm, literally covered in blood (spots of red paint “splashed out” even on the frame). Above the bloody body of a woman stands a deadpan killer (his hat is a hint of Diego), and on top, like a mockery, the name hovers, written on a ribbon held by doves, so similar to a wedding decoration.

Among Rivera's admirers there is an opinion that Frida's paintings are "salon paintings". Perhaps, at first, Frida herself would have agreed with this. She was always critical of her own work, did not seek to make friends with gallery owners and dealers, and when someone bought her paintings, she often complained that the money could be spent with greater benefit. There was some coquetry in it, but, frankly, it's hard to feel confident when your husband is a recognized artist who works around the clock, and you are a self-taught artist, who hardly finds time for painting between chores around the house and medical operations. “The work of an aspiring artist is definitely significant and threatens even her crowned with laurels famous husband", - was written in a press release for Frida's first New York exhibition (1938); "little Frida" - that's what the author of the publication in TIME called her. By that time, the “beginner” “baby” had been writing for nine years.

"Roots", 1943

But the lack of high expectations gave complete freedom. “I write myself because I spend a lot of time alone and because I am the topic that I know best,” Frida said, and in addressing this “topic” there was not only subjectivity, but also subjectivity. The women who posed for Diego turned into nameless allegories in his frescoes; Frida has always been the main character. This position was strengthened by doubling the portraits: she often painted herself simultaneously in different images and guises. The large canvas "Two Fridas" was created during the divorce proceedings; on it, Frida wrote herself "beloved" (on the right, in a Tehuan costume) and "unloved" (in a Victorian dress, bleeding), as if declaring that now she is her own "other half". In the painting “My Birth”, created shortly after her first miscarriage, she depicts herself as a newborn, but apparently also associates with the figure of a mother, whose face is hidden.

The New York exhibition mentioned above helped Frida become freer. For the first time she felt her independence: she went to New York alone, made acquaintances, received orders for portraits and started novels, not because her husband was too busy, but because she liked it so much. The exhibition was received generally favorably. Of course, there were critics who said that Frida's paintings were too "gynecological", but it was rather a compliment: finally, that part of a woman's life, which the theorists of "female destiny" had been discussing for centuries, but which had always been shamefacedly hidden from prying eyes, was shown in a work of art.

The New York exhibition was followed by the Paris one, arranged with the direct participation of Andre Breton, who considered Frida a prominent surrealist. She agreed to the exhibition, but carefully denied surrealism. There are many symbols on Frida's canvases, but no hints: everything is obvious, like an illustration from an anatomical atlas, and at the same time flavored with excellent humor. The dreaminess and decadence inherent in the surrealists annoyed her, their nightmares and Freudian projections seemed childish compared to what she had experienced in reality: “Since [the accident] I have been obsessed with the idea of ​​depicting things as my eyes see them, and nothing more". “She has no illusions,” Rivera agreed.

roots, stems and fruits, and in the diary entries the refrain "Diego is my child."

It became impossible for her husband to be a mother after a series of operations on the spine and amputations: first a pair of fingers on the right foot, then the entire lower leg. Frida habitually endured pain, but was afraid of losing her mobility. Nevertheless, she was brave: going to the operation, she put on one of best dresses, and for the prosthesis I ordered a boot made of red leather with embroidery. Despite her serious condition, dependence on narcotic painkillers and mood swings, she was preparing for the 25th anniversary of her first wedding and even persuaded Diego to take her to a communist demonstration. Continuing to work with the last of her strength, at some point she thought about how to make her paintings more politicized, which seemed unthinkable after so many years spent depicting personal experiences. Perhaps if Frida survived the illness, we would recognize her with a new one, unexpected side. But pneumonia caught at that very demonstration ended the life of the artist on July 13, 1954.

“For twelve years of work, everything was excluded that did not come from the internal lyrical motivation that forced me to write,” Frida explained in an application for a grant from the Guggenheim Foundation in 1940, “Because my subjects have always been my own feelings, the state of my mind and responses to what life put into me, I often embodied all this in the image of myself, which was the most sincere and real, so I could express everything that happens in me and in the outside world.

"My birth", 1932

Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo Calderón (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954) was a famous Mexican surrealist artist. She became famous thanks to many portraits and paintings, and her unusual style became one of the base countries in the art and culture of Latin America.

Childhood

Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907 in the city of Coyoacan in a poor large family. Her father, a Jew born in Germany, was an amateur photographer, so he was often invited to various solemn events. However, he was paid relatively little, since even the most magnificent wedding ceremonies and anniversaries were celebrated modestly and economically. Frida's mother did not work, as she looked after the children. In particular, for Kahlo herself.

V early age the girl suffered severe poliomyelitis, after which she began to limp heavily in one leg. In addition, her other leg became very thin and did not fully recover even in her youth, which forced Frida Kahlo to constantly wear huge and puffy skirts, hiding a physical defect. However, the illness that almost claimed the life of a little girl made her much stronger and more resilient, shaped the character of a fighter not only for freedom, but also for the right to existence and life.

Trying to develop the girl as much as possible, the parents send her to boxing classes. The acquired lameness absolutely does not prevent young Kahlo from earning success and popularity and even participating in competitions. In parallel, she goes to a preparatory school, where almost from the first days she forms almost her “own society” with her own rules and laws. According to the teachers, the girl was never weak. Rather, on the contrary, she constantly wanted to prove to everyone and everyone that she deserved to be the best and most beloved.

Accident and life after it

In 1925, Frida gets into a terrible car accident - she is hit by a bus. As a result, the girl is diagnosed with injuries that are practically incompatible with life: fractures of the spine and collarbone in three places, fractures of the ribs and the hip bone, dislocations, shifts and fractures of almost all bones on the leg, a crushed foot and, worst of all, a stomach and uterus pierced by a machine frame , which immediately puts an end to Kahlo's reproductive health. And, despite the fact that after the accident the girl is paralyzed in a hospital bed for many months, she successfully withstands a dozen operations and remains unbroken, which in such a situation is a real miracle.

It was there, lying in the hospital, that Frida Kahlo asked her father for the first time to buy her brushes and paints. As the artist herself later admits, “…it was the only occupation available to me for long and long months…”.

And since at that time her legs and arms were still not strong after a series of operations, her father specially selects a stretcher for her, and also installs a large mirror in front of the hospital bed, which allows Frida to see herself. This idea defines the style of her first paintings. The girl begins to create autobiographical images, looking at her own reflection.

“Some mistakenly think that my choice of self-portraits is a selfish desire to show how much I love myself. However, this is not true. It was just that at that time it was the only topic, the meaning of which was clear and close to me. I didn’t go outside, I didn’t even get out of bed - who else could I draw, if not myself?

In order to somehow please his daughter, the father begins to first collect her works, and then try to organize an exhibition. He does not succeed in selling paintings to the gallery, but another Mexican portrait painter, who is also just starting his career, is interested in the work of Kahlo Frida. For a relatively small amount, he offers his services, and a year later the father takes his daughter to her first own exhibition, held in their small town. Since that time, Frida has gained popularity and universal approval and has become a favorite in her homeland.

After that, exhibition galleries of several foreign countries. In particular, in 1939 Kahlo opens an exhibition in Paris, then visits Spain and Italy several times, where he meets many interesting artists and political figures. However, literally a month later, the girl disappears from the world stage due to potent drugs and drugs, which until that moment had constantly alleviated her condition. The character and mood of Frida become changeable, the girl often finds herself on the verge of nervous breakdown then in a deep depression.

last years of life

As soon as Frida realizes that she does not have long left, she decides to return to her homeland. There she wants to create a few more paintings, but does not have time. In 1953, she again finds herself in a practically comatose state in a hospital bed, and a month later she develops gangrene, which leads to the amputation of her right leg below the knee.

On July 13, 1954, Frida Kahlo dies of severe pneumonia due to a weakened immune system. There is a version among the people that her death was caused by an overdose of drugs, and that Kahlo specifically asked the medical staff to save her from suffering, but there is still no official confirmation of this.

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo i Calderon (July 6, 1907, Coyoacan, Mexico City, Mexico - July 13, 1954, ibid) - Mexican artist, best known for her self-portraits, wife of Diego Rivera.

Biography
Calo Frida, Mexican artist and graphic artist, wife of Diego Rivera, master of surrealism. Frida Kahlo was born in Mexico City in 1907, in the family of a Jewish photographer, originally from Germany. Mother is Spanish born in America. At the age of six, she suffered from polio, and since then her right leg has become shorter and thinner than her left. At the age of eighteen, on September 17, 1925, Kahlo was in a car accident: a broken iron bar of a tram current collector stuck in her stomach and went out in her groin, crushing her hip bone. The spine was damaged in three places, two hips and a leg were broken in eleven places. Doctors could not vouch for her life. The painful months began of inaction. It was at this time that Kahlo asked her father for a brush and paints. A special stretcher was made for Frida Kahlo, which allowed her to write lying down. A large mirror was attached under the canopy of the bed so that Frida Kahlo could see herself. She started with self-portraits. "I write myself because I spend a lot of time alone and because I am the subject that I know best". In 1929, Frida Kahlo entered the National Institute of Mexico. For a year spent almost in complete immobility, Kahlo became seriously interested in painting. Having started walking again, she attended art school and in 1928 joined the Communist Party. Her work was highly appreciated by the already famous time communist artist Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo married him at the age of 22. Their family life seethed with passion. They could not always be together, but never apart. They had a relationship - passionate, obsessed and sometimes painful. An ancient sage said about such relationships: "It is impossible to live neither with you nor without you." Frida Kahlo's relationship with Trotsky is fanned with a romantic halo. The Mexican artist admired the "tribune of the Russian revolution", was very upset by his expulsion from the USSR and was happy that thanks to Diego Rivera he found shelter in Mexico City. Most of all in life, Frida Kahlo loved life itself - and this attracted men and women to her like a magnet. Despite the excruciating physical suffering, she could have fun from the heart and go wild. But the damaged spine constantly reminded of itself. From time to time, Frida Kahlo had to go to the hospital, almost constantly wearing special corsets. In 1950, she underwent 7 operations on her spine, she spent 9 months in a hospital bed, after which she could move only in wheelchair. In 1952, Frida Kahlo's right leg was amputated to the knee. In 1953, Frida Kahlo's first solo exhibition was held in Mexico City. Frida Kahlo does not smile in any self-portrait: a serious, even mournful face, fused thick eyebrows, a slightly noticeable mustache above tightly compressed sensual lips. The ideas of her paintings are encrypted in the details, the background, the figures that appear next to Frida. The symbolism of Kahlo is based on national traditions and is closely connected with the Indian mythology of the pre-Hispanic period. Frida Kahlo knew the history of her homeland brilliantly. Many authentic monuments of ancient culture, which Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo collected all their lives, are located in the garden of the Blue House. Frida Kahlo died of pneumonia, a week after she celebrated her 47th birthday, on July 13, 1954. Farewell to Frida Kahlo took place in the "Bellas Artes" - the Palace of Fine Arts. V last way Frida, along with Diego Rivera, was seen off by Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas, artists, writers - Siqueiros, Emma Hurtado, Victor Manuel Villaseñor and other famous figures of Mexico.

Creation
The work of Frida Kahlo has always gravitated towards surrealism. The founder of surrealism, Andre Breton, who traveled around Mexico in 1938, was fascinated by the paintings of Kahlo, unambiguously ranked the paintings of Frida Kahlo as surrealism. Andre Breton offered to arrange an exhibition in Paris, but when Frida Kahlo, who did not speak French, arrived in Paris, she was in for an unpleasant surprise - Breton did not bother to pick up the work of the Mexican artist from the customs service. The event was saved by Marcel Duchamp, the exhibition took place 6 weeks later. She did not become financially successful, but critical reviews were favorable, paintings by Frida Kahlo were praised by Picasso and Kandinsky, and one of them was bought by the Louvre. Frida Kahlo, quick-tempered by nature, was offended and did not hide her dislike for the “crazy crazy surrealist sons of bitches”. She abandoned surrealism not immediately, in January 1940. she took part (along with Diego Rivera) in the International Exhibition of Surrealism, but later proved that she was never a true surrealist. “ They thought I was a surrealist, but I wasn't. Frida Kahlo never painted dreams, I painted my reality," the artist said.

Latin American art and paintings by Frida
Of particular importance in the work of Frida Kahlo are national motifs. Frida Kahlo knew the history of her homeland well. Frida had a special love for Mexican folk culture, collected old works of applied art, and even wore national costumes in everyday life. In the paintings of Frida, the influence of Mexican folk art, the culture of the pre-Columbian civilizations of America is very strong. Her work is full of symbols and fetishes. The ideas of her paintings are encoded in the details, the background, the figures that appear next to Frida and the symbolism is revealed through national traditions and is closely connected with the Indian mythology of the pre-Hispanic period. Nevertheless, the influence of European painting is noticeable in Frida's painting. Experts believe that the 1940s is the heyday of Frida Kahlo's creativity.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera
At 22, Frida Kahlo became the wife of the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera. Diego Rivera was then 43 years old. The two artists were brought together not only by art, but also by common communist beliefs. Their stormy life together has become a legend. Frida met Diego Rivera as a teenager, when he painted the walls of the school where Frida studied. After an injury and temporary forced confinement, Frida, who has written many paintings during this time, decides to show them to a recognized meter. The paintings made a great impression on Diego Rivera: “ The paintings of Frida Kahlo conveyed a life-filled sensuality, which was complemented by a merciless, but very sensitive, ability to observe. It was obvious to me that this girl was a born artist.».

Character
Despite a life full of pain and suffering, Frida Kahlo had a lively and liberated extraversive nature, and her daily speech was littered with foul language. Being a tomboy in her youth, she did not lose her ardor in her later years. Kahlo smoked heavily, drank alcohol in excess (especially tequila), was openly bisexual, sang obscene songs and told equally obscene jokes to the guests of her wild parties.

Creation
In the works of Frida Kahlo, the strong influence of Mexican folk art, the culture of the pre-Columbian civilizations of America, is noticeable. Her work is full of symbols and fetishes. The influence of European painting is also noticeable in it - Frida's passion, for example, Botticelli, was manifested in his early works.
Exhibitions
In 2003, an exhibition of Frida Kahlo's works and her photographs was held in Moscow. The painting "Roots" was exhibited in 2005 at the Tate Gallery in London, and Kahlo's solo exhibition in this museum became one of the most successful in the history of the gallery - about 370 thousand people visited it.
The cost of paintings
In early 2006, Frida's self-portrait Roots was valued at $7 million by Sotheby's experts. The painting was painted by the artist in oil on sheet metal in 1943 (after her remarriage to Diego Rivera). In the same year, this painting was sold for 5.6 million US dollars, which was a record among Latin American works.

house museum
The house in Coyoacan was built three years before Frida was born on a small piece of land. The thick walls of the outer façade, the flat roof, one living floor, the layout, in which the rooms were always cool and all opened onto the courtyard, almost an example of a colonial-style house. It stood only a few blocks from the city's central square. From the outside, the house on the corner of Calle Londres and Calle Allende looked exactly like the others in Coyoacán, an old residential area in the southwest suburbs of Mexico City. For 30 years, the appearance of the house has not changed.

But Diego and Frida made it what we know it: a house in predominantly blue with ornate high windows, decorated in traditional Indian style, a house full of passion. The entrance to the house is guarded by two gigantic Judas, their twenty-foot-tall papier-mâché figures gesturing as if inviting each other to talk. Inside, Frida's palettes and brushes lie on the desktop as if she had just left them there. By Diego Rivera's bed is a hat, his work robe and huge boots. The large corner bedroom has a glass showcase. Above it is written: "Frida Kahlo was born here on July 7, 1910." The inscription appeared four years after the death of the artist, when her house became a museum. Unfortunately, the inscription is inaccurate. According to Frida's birth certificate, she was born on July 6, 1907. But choosing something more significant than 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 in the chaos and blood-drenched streets of Mexico City, she decided that she was born with this revolution. The bright blue and red walls of the courtyard are decorated with another inscription: "Frida and Diego lived in this house from 1929 to 1954." Prior to the trip of Diego and Frida to the USA, where they spent 4 years (until 1934), they did not live much in this house. Between 1934 and 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 parted, divorced and remarried.

Filmography
In 2002, the film Frida was filmed, dedicated to the artist. The role of Frida Kahlo was played by Salma Hayek. In 1971, the short film "Frida Kahlo" was released, in 1982 - a documentary, in 2000 - a documentary from the series "Great Women Artists", in 1976 - "The Life and Death of Frida Kahlo", in 2005 - the documentary "Life and times of Frida Kahlo.