So, yes, I would recommend going to this exhibition in order to see what Frida’s actual life, with all its pain and anguish, was like. And you will see that. But you won’t see it merely because of the terrible difficulties with which she contended in her life and about which you can read. You’ll really see it because she painted it so well. Her pain and difficulty will be injected directly into your heart. Her pain will become your pain. But also, because of her ability as an artist, her beauty will become yours as well.
IMAGES
1. Sylvia Salmi, Frida Kahlo, 1944; Vicente Wolf Photography Collection
2. Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas (Las dos Fridas), 1939; oil on canvas; 67-11/16 x 67-11/16 inches; Collection Museo de Arte Moderno, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes–Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Mexico City; © 2008 Banco de México, Trustee of the Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. Av. Cinco de Mayo No. 2, Col. Centro, Del. Cuauhtémoc 06059, México, D.F.
3. Frida Kahlo, The Broken Column (La columna rota), 1944; oil on Masonite; 15-11/16 x 12-1/16 inches; Collection Museo Dolores Olmedo, Xochimilco, Mexico City; © 2008 Banco de México, Trustee of the Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. Av. Cinco de Mayo No. 2, Col. Centro, Del. Cuauhtémoc 06059, México, D.F.
4. Frida Kahlo, Frieda and Diego Rivera, 1931; oil on canvas; 39-3/8 x 31 inches; Collection San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Albert M. Bender Collection, Gift of Albert M. Bender; © 2008 Banco de México, Trustee of the Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. Av. Cinco de Mayo No. 2, Col. Centro, Del. Cuauhtémoc 06059, México, D.F.
Article comments
1 - Laura
Nice review! I was in SF a few days ago, but did not have enough time to go see the show. At first I thought you were trying to actually compare Rembrandt with Frida and I was getting ready to prepare a nice long response telling you why you were wrong to even try and do so. It just simply can not and should not be done. Then I realized what you were actually doing... (good job you made me think!)
Aesthetically, I would probably choose Rembrandt over Frida Kahlo, but in almost every other way, they are two remarkably different artists. Indeed, Rembrandt is one of the best, but for her time and place and what she set out to do (or didn't set out to do), Frida Kahlo should certainly share a spot with Rembrandt on the list of greatest artists. Though filled with a lot of sadness and pain, the story of Frida Kahlo is a beautiful one and her work definitely portrays that.
"I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration." -Frida Kahlo
"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best." -Frida Kahlo
" I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality." -Frida Kahlo
2 - Terence Clarke
Hello Laura:
Thank you. Yes, one takes his chances comparing anyone to Rembrandt. I had seen individual paintings by Frida here and there, but I'd never seen as large a presentation of her work as this one is. The show is a smash hit, with huge crowds. But these days, given Frida's fame, that's to be expected. I only hope that the people in line at the exhibition do understand how fine an artist she was and, above all, that she was not merely a talented victim of circumstance.
Thanks also, by the way, for the quotes from Frida. One of the real charms of Hayden Herrera's biography is that she allows Frida to speak for herself very often, through quotes from interviews and, principally, from her letters. She's best in Spanish, of course. But she wrote a very fine English too, often salted with a lot of humor.
Thanks again,
Terry
3 - Bliffle
Good article. I always enjoy your articles, in fact.
A few years ago, 2000 in fact, I was pleased to tour Robert Bradys home, now a public museum, and quite interesting, in Cuernavaca and find therein several of Kahlos works.
4 - Jet Gardner
"...A few years ago, 2000 in fact," Bliff you mean you're... Jesus?