The first lady of Mexican art
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You couldn’t really have a blog about all things Latin American and not have at least one post dedicated to the Queen of Mexican art, Frida Kahlo. It is almost too difficult to do justice to her paintings in words; you simply have to see them in the flesh to appreciate their beauty. It’s like trying to explain what a Sarah Jane Szikora print looks like to someone who’s never seen a piece of her work before!
So, I’ve decided I won’t even try to tell you what a Kahlo painting looks like. I’d only fall way short and probably put you off ever going to see her stuff in an exhibition. Instead, here’s a potted history of her fascinating, vibrant and scandalous life! Though even in this ambition, I’ve already been out-done by the fabulous biopic which was a labour of love for the Mexican actress Salma Hayek – the prettiest Kahlo I’ve ever seen…
Who was Frida Kahlo? She was born in 1907, though later in life she always claimed her birth date was in 1910, to coincide with the Mexican revolution. She suffered poor health all her life, something which affected her mental health and her relationships, including her marriage to fellow Mexican artist, Diego Rivera. That anguish can be seen etched into every one of her self portraits – a subject matter she would return to again and again throughout her career.
One of the most quoted facts about Kahlo is sadly nothing to do with her painting, and I feel loathe to mention it in this blog, but I know people will only wonder why I failed to mention her affair with Leon Trotsky during his exile in Mexico. In fact, both Kahlo and her husband had more than their fair share of extramarital relationships. There are not many women who can claim to have been intimate with both Trotsky and Josephine Baker!
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