According to Splat! The Most Exciting Artists of All Time by Mary Richards, Kahlo's life was filled with pain, both emotional and physical, and her art reflects that clearly. Her paintings also show great courage and determination.
Frida Kahlo:
- Kahlo's work reflects the dramatic story of her own life on canvas, making herself the subject of her art.
- Her preferred choice of medium was oil paint.
- She lived in Coyoacan, at the time a small village outside of Mexico City.
- Kahlo has over 50 self-portrait paintings.
- Her influences were Mexican art, history, and traditions; and ideas of revolution and fighting for a fairer future.
- Kahlo had around 30 operations during her life. She was often in hospital and in pain, but didn't stop making art.
- Kahlo used a specially adapted easel to paint in her sickbed.
- She died when she was 47 years old.
Below are six paintings that Frida Kahlo created. Olivia studied each of them and shared some things that she remembered about them.
Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird
1940
University of Texas at Austin
According to Splat! The Most Exciting Artists of All Time by Mary Richards, this painting doesn't show how she's feeling, but the objects and animals do. The thorns piercing her skin reveal suffering, yet the dragonflies and butterflies indicate new life and hope.
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is a woman and a monkey and a cat.
- The monkey looks like it is grooming the woman.
- The cat is looking past the woman's shoulder.
- The woman in the picture you can tell has facial hair - you can kind of see it. Her eyebrows look like she has a unibrow.
- She is wearing a necklace made out of thorns and you can see drops of blood on her neck where the thorns have cut her.
- Attached to the necklace there is a hummingbird that is tied to the necklace with rope or twine.
- The background is these large tropical leaves in different hues of green.
- You can see the blue sky a little bit, and the woman's hair is pulled up into a bun.
- There's like this thing that looks like it is part of her hairstyle that is part of two butterflies.
- There are also two dragonflies. I believe one of the dragonflies has a purple head.
- The woman looks like she is quite tan. She has a slightly darker skin tone than most people have.
- Her lips are a darkish pink and she is wearing a white shirt.
- Her eyes are brown or black, and the cat's eyes were a green.
- The monkey had some white fur on it on its head and back a little bit.
- I believe the monkey was holding onto her or at least its legs were.
- I don't know what the cat was standing on. You could see part of its body and its head.
Self-Portrait with Monkey
1938
According to Splat! The Most Exciting Artists of All Time by Mary Richards, Kahlo's pet monkey sits on her shoulder. With his arm around her neck, he looks as if he is protecting her from harm.
Olivia remembered:
- In this picture, the woman doesn't seem very happy.
- She has a unibrow.
- Her lips are a magenta color and her cheeks have a little bit of pink.
- The monkey has an arm wrapped around her neck and she is wearing a necklace out of wood and shells, tied together with a red thread.
- She is wearing a white shirt.
- Her hair is pulled up in a braided brown; and part of her hair is green.
- The background of the picture is leaves, and you can see part of the sky through the leaves.
- Some of the leaves have a white veining to them.
- Behind her there is this piece of white wood and it has spider webs all over it, but it is white. It almost looks like a chair.
- The monkey has a vine wrapped around its neck.
- The monkey is black with kind of a lighter-colored chest.
- You don't see where the other monkey arm is.
Frida and Diego Rivera
1931
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is a man and woman. The man is wearing a black suit with a blue shirt. The woman is wearing a green dress with a red shawl.
- In the man's right hand, there is a palette with paint brushes in it. On his other hand, he is holding her hand.
- The woman's left hand is curled up and her thumb is kind of sticking up - like she was originally holding the paint palette.
- She is wearing a red shawl and her shoes are the same color as her dress, but with red dots on it.
- The floor is brown and the man's shoes are a light brown.
- She has two necklaces on - one has a pendant on it and the other one is like a chain.
- Above her and the man, is a bird and in its beak is a ribbon that has writing on it.
- The man has a very high pair of pants. He doesn't seem super interested about what's going on.
- His eyes are up and looking towards the left.
- The wall is kind of a grayish-greenish color.
- The man has shiny, brown shoes on.
- Her hair is pulled up.
Viva la Vida Watermelons
1951-1954
Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museum, Mexico City, Mexico
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there are five watermelons. Two of them look like they are whole and the rest of them look like they have parts of it missing.
- Some have been cut in slices. One of the slices has the Vida la Vida carved into it along with the painter.
- Some of the outer shells of the watermelon are light green and others are dark green. Some are yellowish.
- One of the watermelons was cut in half. You can see the seeds.
- All the watermelons that have been cut open, you can see the white rind.
- One of the watermelons was cut into different shapes and it has a 3D effect.
- The sky is blue.
- You can see the seeds that are on the watermelon that was cut in half.
- You can see the seeds that are on the watermelon that was cut in half.
- You can see the detailing on the outside of the watermelon - like the dark lines on the lighter part of the watermelon.
- You don't see what the watermelon are sitting on.
- The watermelon that has the 3D effect has a jagged cutting edge to it.
- There is one whole watermelon in the back.
- The one watermelon in the center has the darkest shell.
- You don't see the artist signature in the picture like you normally do.
Self-Portrait as a Tehuana
1943
According to 13 Artists Children Should Know by Angela Wenzel, Frida loved her country very much. She often wore Mexican costumes and jewelry. In this picture, Frida painted herself wearing the costume of a Mexican Indian woman belonging to the Tehuana people. On her forehead is the picture of a man. It is the artist Diego Rivera, whom Frida married when she was 23 years old.
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is a person wearing one of those collars that are made out of lace, but she is wearing it around her head.
- Her hair is pulled back and she is wearing this crown of leaves and flowers - except they look like they are dehydrated because they are brown and not very bright in color. Very dull in color.
- In the middle of the woman's forehead is a picture of a man, and you can't see who it is. You can just see he has dark hair and isn't smiling.
- She is also wearing a shawl with a pattern of white flowers on it, and it has a satin pink trim. Underneath the shawl, is her dress. It is white with green stripes on it.
- You can see pieces of her hair coming down.
- The entire picture appears to have cracks on it - either white coming off the lace or black pieces that look like it may be her hair. But, the entire picture appears to be cracked.
- The background of the picture is brown.
- Her expression is kind of sullen. She isn't smiling or anything. Her cheeks are kind of reddish and her lips are a dark color.
- The lace has a pattern of flowers or you can see through to the shawl.
- The lace around her head kind of looks like flower petals or a mane of flower petals.
- The man looks like he was wearing a black or blue shirt.
The Bus
1929
Olivia remembered:
- There are six people sitting on a bench. One of them is a boy and the rest are adults. There are two men and three women.
- The woman on the far right appears to be of Asian descent for she has a very round face and has a light skin town. She looks like a dainty doll.
- She has on a pink dress with a scarf around her neck that looks like it blowing in the breeze.
- The man next to her, has a three-piece suit on with a blue vest and a light-color undershirt.
- He has a gray hat with a black band around it, and in his hand is a sack or bag that looks like it is full of something. It looks like a handkerchief that you can tie into a pouch to hold your lunch.
- Next to him, is the boy and he has white pants on and a gray shirt. He is wearing a cap with orange stripes.
- Sitting next to the boy, who I think could be his mother, is a woman who is wearing an orange shawl that is wrapped around her head. Also wrapped in the shawl is a baby.
- She is wearing a green skirt or dress, and she does not have any shoes on.
- At her feet, is a sack that is tied up. It looks like it is holding what belongings she owns.
- Next to her is another man and he is wearing blue overalls with a light-blue undershirt. He also has a hat on and in his hand it looks like he is holding a wrench....like he is some sort of mechanic.
- The woman next to him looks like she is Frida, and is wearing a white dress with flowers on it. On her right arm is a basket.
- If you look out the widow of the bus, you can an open road with grass - like a plain.
- There is a row of trees that is lining the road on one side.
- If you look through the last window, that instead of being a bright blue is much darker in color.
- You can see warehouses or buildings, and one of the buildings is belching out black smoke.
- There is a tree outside the trolley door, because it doesn't look like a bus - it looks like a trolley since there are open windows and an open door.
- The floor of the trolley is wood - a light wood color.- The walls of the trolley are a dark-wood color.
- Above the window, there is a panel of lighter wood.
- The bench that everyone is sitting on, looks like it could be planted on the floor.
1 comment:
I feel badly for her painful life. She definitely had her own style.
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