Frida Kahlo was not just an influential artist but one of the most determined individuals I have ever heard of. In Kahlo’s young life she suffered from polio. This life-threatening disease was the main cause for Frida Kahlo’s inability to walk without a limp. Fortunately for her, her family was more than supportive, and her father especially encouraged her to play unusual sports for girls such as soccer and swimming all in the hopes to help in her recovery. In support for her rehabilitation her family was there for her and also in her most unfortunate time of her life. Frida Kahlo, at age 18 was travelling on a bus where it was hit by another vehicle. From the impact and result of the accident, Kahlo was impaled by a steel handrail. The pole had drove through into her hip and out the other side resulting in numerous injuries, proceeding her to back-to-back surgeries (thirty-two), still leaving her in immense pain and bedridden once again for years.
It was during her time of recovery that she started to create her artwork. Kahlo started to express herself with paint, first painting on her full-body cast, things such as her loss of maternity, since from the accident she no longer was able to have children. By the first year after being bedridden at home, she finished her first self-portrait. After she created more self-portraits showing her pain and loss but her facial expression never changed. I always thought in each painting she had a demeaner of resilience, and she did. No matter how much pain she was in, she always would make herself presentable even if she couldn’t get out of bed, she always made her hair, adding flowery crowns which helped her to feel happiness. She spent all her life in this pain until her death at the age of forty-seven.
Research
From my own experiences of see her work on exhibit at the the V&A Museum in London
Jeff Burgess
Imogen,
Nice work on Frida Kahlo! Good background information combined with your personal feelings about the artist. A good choice of subject.
Also I’ve corrected the scores on the final quiz and yours was 37/50 which translates to a B. Good work this term and I hope you have a great holiday break.
Jeff