Analysis Of Frida Kahlo

ARTH 3208/CHIC 3208

Deprived of Home

Among the many famous Mexican artists, one name stands out due to her tragic life and surreal self-portraits, and that is Frida Kahlo. One of Frida’s more renowned portraits is: Self-portrait on the borderline between Mexico and the United States, hereafter called: Kahlo’s self-portrait. Frida created this small oil painting in the United States in 1932. Kahlo was in the United States at the time accompanying her husband, Diego Rivera, who had been commissioned to paint several murals. Kahlo’s self-portrait is a representation of her interpretations of the two countries and how she was feeling at the time. Through symbolic interpretation, Frida Kahlo’s self-portrait is representing her homesickness of Mexico and her disposition towards the two countries.

When observing Kahlo’s self-portrait, it is important to notice the small details as she places every detail in the painting on purpose. In the very center of the portrait you see Frida Kahlo standing on a stone, that has inscribed in it ‘Carmen Rivera painted her portrait in the year 1932’, while wearing a traditional Mexican pink dress. She is holding a Mexican flag in one hand and a cigarette in another. To the left of her is a more rural landscape; on the foreground of the painting there are a variety of plants and cacti in bud and bloom. In the middle of the left side there are what seem to be Aztec statues, next to them there is a traditional Mexican skull. At the top of the left side there is an Aztec pyramid in ruin. Above the Ruin are a sun and a moon separated by a thunderbolt. On the right of Frida is a more city-like landscape full of technology. In the background of the right side there are towering skyscrapers and factories that ...

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...ant place for her artistically. The tragic events that happened to her in the United States changed the way she view the US. In Kahlo’s self-portrait she depicts the United States as void of life, and full of machines. The floodlights, microphone and generator in the foreground make it seem to be dangerous. And the factory with the word ‘FORD’ could not be forgotten, as it was part of a major event in her life.

Frida Kahlo’s life was one of tragedy and loss; her paintings are representations of how she was feeling and what she was thinking. Using different methods of symbolism, Self-portrait on the borderline between Mexico and the United States was her way of expressing her homesickness and how she was feeling during her difficult time in the United States of America. Kahlo’s work is a perfect example of turning a dark hurtful time into a beautiful piece of artwork