Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo, considered one of the best Mexican artists to ever live, was born on July 6,

1907. She grew up near Mexico City, Mexico, with a family of Mexican and German descent. As

a teenager, she attended the prestigious National Preparatory School in Mexico, where she first

witnessed Diego Rivera at work while he painted a mural for the school.

Kahlo was terribly injured in a 1925 bus accident. A metal handrail impaled her hip,

which completely changed her life. She was forced to deal with medical concerns for the rest of

her life because of the accident. However, without that accident, she never would have begun

painting. She began painting as a way to cope with the effects of the disaster.

Despite the long recovery process, Kahlo reconnected with Diego Rivera and married

him in 1928. Though they greatly admired one another, especially each others art, they were not

a traditional married couple. They lived separately, and frequently had affairs with other people,

Rivera especially. Kahlo expressed her hurt over Riveras infidelity over the years, but eventually

had an affair of her own. These romantic exploits and the emotions inspired by them played a

large role in Kahlos artwork.

Kahlo and Rivera divorced in 1939, but it did not last long. The two were remarried in

1940, but with the renewed marriage came even more heartbreak. Kahlo desperately wanted to

have children, but despite the couples multiple attempts, Kahlo was not able to have a child. Her

miscarriages became an element of her artwork as well.

In her later years, Kahlos bus accident injuries and the accompanying pain became even

more ubiquitous. Kahlo spent countless hours in surgery and countless months in recovery. Her

artwork reflects this. Although it was not always overtly obvious, Kahlo worked in many

metaphorical representations of her physical limitations, which practically took over her life in

her later years.

 Kahlo passed away on July 13, 1947, reportedly as a result of pulmonary embolism,

which is a blocked artery in the lungs. However, it is speculated that Kahlo actually committed

suicide to escape her deep depression from her heartbreak over her marriage, lack of children,

and pain from her injury. No matter the cause of Kahlos death, it is assured that she left behind a

legacy of strength, perseverance, and beauty in the face of hardships no one should have to face.

The artwork by Kahlo that I have decided to write about is a painting by her called Tree

of Hope. Kahlo painted it in 1946 as her health conditions rapidly declined. In it, she paints two

figures of herself. One is lying on a surgical table with open, bleeding incisions in her back. The

other is sitting up and awake, and is wearing a steel corset like the one Kahlo had to wear in real

life to help her back. The awake figure of Kahlo holds a flag that reads, Tree of hope, keep

firm. The flagpole appears to be either a surgical instrument tipped with blood, or a paintbrush

dipped in red paint. Though the sitting figure of Kahlo weeps, she has a firm, calm expression,

symbolizing Kahlos strong will and determination.

Overall, Tree of Hope is a painting that attests to the extreme adversities Kahlo battled

until the very last moment. The calm suffering of the awake figure of Kahlo embodies her life.

Though it was not always pleasant, she was courageous and never let the hardships that plagued

her living overcome her completely.

Sources
http://www.fridakahlo.org/tree-of-hope.jsp

http://www.theartstory.org/artist-kahlo-frida.htm

http://www.biography.com/people/frida-kahlo-9359496

http://www.fridakahlo.org/

http://www.pbs.org/weta/fridakahlo/life/

http://www.fridakahlo.org/frida-kahlo-biography.jsp