Kahlo

Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) was a Mexican painter celebrated for deeply personal works that address identity, gender, class, and Mexican culture. Born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón in Coyoacán, she contracted polio as a child and suffered a severe bus accident at age eighteen, injuries that caused lifelong health problems and influenced the direction of her art. She began painting during her recovery and produced a prolific body of work, creating about 200 paintings, including around 50 self-portraits.

Kahlo married muralist Diego Rivera in 1929, and their relationship, travel, and political engagement shaped much of her life and art. Her paintings fuse elements of Mexican folk art, indigenous imagery, and European painting traditions, using vivid color and symbolic detail to explore themes of pain, resilience, and self-identity. Although frequently associated with surrealism, she rejected the label, describing her work as a personal narrative rather than a dreamlike or automatic imagination. Notable works include The Two Fridas (1939), Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940), and The Broken Column (1944).

Her reputation grew posthumously, and she became an emblematic figure in feminist and Indigenous art discourse. Kahlo’s influence extends beyond painting to broader cultural and political discussions, and her life and work continue to attract widespread scholarly and popular interest. Her works are held in major museums around the world, and she remains a central figure in discussions of Latin American art and identity.