Frida Kahlo: Artist, Feminist, Rebel

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Frida Kahlo is a world-renowned Mexican painter known for her shocking self-portaits filled with painful imagery. Her artwork was seen by many as surrealist and socialist, but she refused the labels put on herself. Until today, her works have been able to exude the same playful and wild feel as before (Fisher n.p). Her legacy as a painter has attracted prominent people like Madonna who has confessed her admiration for the painter. Not only that but fashion designers are frequently inspired by her iconic Tijuana dresses while her paintings have been priced at more than three million dollars (Bauer 115).

Besides that, one notable quality of Frida Kahlo that attracts women would be her feminism. In a country where the percentage of women in the work force was only 18% at 1910 and 38% at 2008 (Monk n.p), she stood out as both an independent and empowered woman of her time. After the divorce from her husband Diego Rivera, she had decided for herself that she would be financially independent from her husband by selling her paintings and refusing any financial support from Diego Rivera. She proudly announced that she would never accept any money from a man in her whole life (Kettenmann 52). The female youth of Mexico should continue Frida Kahlo's legacy by empowering themselves and other women.

First of all, at 15, Frida Kahlo was one of the thirty-five girls who attended the National Prepatory School or Escuela Nacional Prepatoria. She quickly joined one of the cliques in school called Cachuchas who were a group of intellectuals who believed in the enlightenment of Mexico (Souter 12). The group had influenced some of Frida's early paintings and some members have been captured in her artwork. For example, the Portrait of Miguel N....

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...roudly show her nationalism.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bauer, Claudia. Frida Kahlo. Trans. Stephen Telfer. Munich: Prestel, 2007.

Binlot, Ann. “Frida Kahlo Makes the Cover of Vogue for the First Time.” ARTINFO. Louis Blouin Media, n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.

Fisher, Lucy. “ON SHOW DRAWN FROM LIFE” TIME 15 August 2005: n.p.

Kettenmann, Andrea. FRIDA KAHLO 1907-1954 Pain and Passion. Trans. Karen Williams. Koln: TASCHEN GmbH, 2003.

Monk, Heather. “Mexican Women – Then and Now.” A SOCIALIST, FEMINIST, ANTI RACIST ORGANIZATION: SOLIDARITY. n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.

Schaefer, Claudia. TEXTURED LIVES Women, Art, and Representation in Modern Mexico. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1992.

Souter, Gerry. Frida Kahlo Beneath the Mirror. USA: Confidential Concepts, 2005.

Van Zoonen, Liesbet. FEMINIST MEDIA STUDIES. London: Sage Publications Ltd, 1994.

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