What Is Frida Kahlo's Identity?

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter of mixed heritage, born on July 6 1907, and lived a short life of 47 painful years before passing away on July 13, 1954.Throughout her life, she painted numerous profound self-portraits and ‘Is best known for a collection of highly emotive and deeply political paintings’ (Glass 239). There are two specific self-portraits that are absolutely breathtaking ‘Two Fridas, 1930’ and ‘Henry ford hospital, 1932’. The main theme in both of these paintings is ‘Identity’ and these paintings are a depiction of her physical pain and struggle, which are indeed a big part of her identity.

Frida was married to Diego Rivera for a short period of time, ‘her marriage with the world famous muralist Diego Rivera, her husband's infidelities,

Kahlo's affairs (both with men and women), and her unhappiness at not being able to bear a child -- provoke psychological discussions of her work.’ (Meadows, “Kahlo as Artist, Woman, Rebel”). Meadows reflects light onto the married life of Kahlo and how her relationship with Rivera deeply plays a part in all her works, especially this one.

Frida Kahlo, two Fridas, 1930
The first work is called ‘Two Fridas’, it was painted in 1930 by Frida Kahlo, ‘Two Fridas’ was painted after Frida’s divorce with Rivera and it is a classic example of her feelings of sorrow and remorse.

The painting portrays two different personalities of Frida, one Frida is the one Diego loved, while the other is liberated and the one Diego rejected or scorned. Frida had a lot of interest in the Mexican culture and traditions, ‘There are two major undercurrents running through Kahlo's art: a deeply rooted love of nature; and an uncontained admiration for Mexico, its people, its history and its cult.’ (Glass 242). Thus, In the portrait, one Frida is shown traditionally wearing a Tehuana costume, with a broken heart and she is also shown attached and holding hands with a more independent and modern Frida. The heart of the traditional Frida is wounded and torn open, the blood from it is dripping over her white dress representing the death of old Frida and her hopelessness. The artery from the old Frida’s heart is attached to the heart of new Frieda signifying her birth. Furthermore, the background is a stormy sky with a sense of urgency and chaos. The work overall is a representative of her liberation and sovereignty from her old, despairing persona to a new more independent personality.

In addition to all the tragedies in Kahlo’s life, her accident at the age of 18 changed her life, the accident left her with numerous injuries. It also caused her pelvis to rapture along with

other bones of her body. As a consequence, to this accident, she became incapable of carrying a baby full term and unfortunately, a few years later, she suffered a miscarriage on July 4th 1932, (class notes).

Frida Kahlo, Henry ford hospital, 1932
The second work by Frida is called ‘Henry ford hospital’, it was painted in 1932, after Frida’s miscarriage in Henry ford hospital. According to Alonso, this painting was a portrayal of Frida’s longing to be a mother. ‘Another painting that depicts Kahlo’s obsession with motherhood is Henry Ford Hospital....’ (Alonso 417). In this portrait, Kahlo shows herself crying and lying in a puddle of blood on the hospital bed in a rather hopeless scene. She is connected through several umbilical cords to a snail, a fetus, a pelvis, an autoclave, an orchid and a torso. All these objects are associated with her inability to give birth and her miscarriage (Alonso 418). In the middle, there is a male fetus that Frida had always longed for but lost. Under it, in the middle is an orchid, the flower that Diego gave Kahlo, it embodies her relationship with Diego.There is also a snail on the left, that may epitomize two things. Firstly, the Aztec symbol of pregnancy and secondly, the Christian symbol for having sinned. A Torso on the upper right corner represents a woman’s body and how it is supposed to normally look in contrast to what Frida’s looked like after the accident. The Pelvis denotes why she can’t have children because her pelvis was crushed in the accident. Lastly, there is an Autoclave in the lower right corner, basically a container used for chemical waste. The background in the portrait is industrial, which is a surrealist landscape painted in dark colors. (class notes)
Frida Kahlo was indeed a woman of strong aspirations, an artist who projected her anguish and pain into esthetically pleasing and intriguing visual imagery. Throughout her life, she painted several reflective self-portraits including two of my favorites ‘Two Fridas, 1930’ and ‘Henry ford hospital, 1932’ and vividly showcased the theme of ‘Identity’ profoundly in both of these portraits.