Frida Kahlo’s life was rich in challenges, which had a significant influence on her artwork. She contracted polio as a child, and was heavily injured when she was 18 years old, leading to constant chronic pain (Gonzalez, 2005). Because of this, pain and injury are themes in many of her paintings, notably, Broken Column and The Two Fridas (Gonzalez, 2005). Her health also left her ultimately unable to bear a child. After two unsuccessful pregnancies, her art references these events, as seen in My Grandparents, My Parents, and Me (Espinoza, 2007). Considering how early some of these events occurred, and how profound an effect they can have on someone, I have no doubts that her art would be completely different if they could be avoided.
Kahlo was also involved in Mexico’s contemporary politics, notably, the communist movement. Some of her works touch on the subjects of class, such as The Bus, depicting people of different social classes from a blue-collar worker to a businessman. Other works feature historical and religious figures, notably Marxist and communist leaders and thinkers, embedding more political and religious symbolism in her works. Furthermore, her art includes references to the strife between traditionalist Mexico and the capitalist and industrialist United States. Kahlo’s involvement with communism and class strife was not limited to her artwork since the man she married, Diego Rivera, was a communist and a supporter of Leon Trotsky (Gonzalez, 2005). Eventually, Trotsky was granted asylum in Mexico, where he lived, and was eventually murdered, in Kahlo’s house (Gonzalez, 2005). These facts clearly show that the artist was sufficiently committed to the ideology to endanger herself by sheltering such a major dissident.
References
Espinoza, J. (2007). Frida Kahlo’s last secret finally revealed. The Guardian. Web.
Gonzalez, M. (2005). Frida Kahlo: A life. Socialist Review, Web.