Frida Kahlo Biography and Quotes
Birthday: July 6th, 1907
Commemoration: July 13th, 1954
Nationality: Mexican
47
Years Old
Famously known for
Magdalene, or Frida Kahlo, as known by many, was a Mexican painter. She is known for her exemplary and uncompromising portraits, which revolved around human bodies, identity, and death. Often, she denied the connection and was known to be a surrealist. Also, she is known for her involvement with Diego Rivera.
Early Life
Frida was born on 6 July 1907 at her family home in Coyoacán. Her father was German. At the age of six years, the painter contracted polio. The ailment saw her right leg become shorter and thinner as compared to the left. The polio infection made her childhood complicated as it saw her stay isolated from her peers.
Regardless of her disability and bullying, Kahlo was a bright student. She had a passion to pursue medicine. The accident which saw many people lose their lives affected her health significantly. While recovering, Kahlo revived her childhood hobby, which was art, and hence the idea to become an artist. Also, the artist joined the Mexican Communist Party where she met artist Diego Rivera.
Personal Life
Kahlo and Diego met, and the two became a thing. They married in 1929, and after spending a decade together, they divorced. Surprisingly, the two married the same year of the divorce again.
Career
Kahlo’s career’s started when she started working outside of school in 1925. During this period, the artist worked to help her family and served as a stenographer. The painter was working for Fernandez, who encouraged her to consider art as her career. After the accident which saw her unable to walk for some time, she had a specially-designed easel that enabled her to carry on with the painting while in bed.
Since then, art became a way for her to explore questions about existence and identity. Often, she would confess that the accident is what saw her begin to paint things as she saw them with her own eyes. Kahlo started with paintings of herself, friends, and her sisters. After moving to San Francisco with her husband, Kahlo took her art to a higher level after meeting with painters such as Timothy Pflueger, Ralph Stackpole, and Edward Weston.
Death
The renowned painter died on 13 July 1954 at the age of 47 years at their home in Mexico City.
