In a drabber parallel universe, Frida Kahlo might have been a doctor. As a high schooler she was on a pre-med track, studying biology, anatomy, and zoology at one of Mexico City’s best schools, one of only 35 girls in a student body of around 2,000. But then a trolley car collided with the bus she was taking home, forever derailing her health and catapulting her onto a new course. We’ll never know what kind of physician Kahlo would have made, because she became a painter of striking autobiographical canvases instead.
In her short but fiercely lived life, the Mexican artist produced between 150 and 200 paintings, most of them self-portraits, depictions of family and friends, and still lifes. Figurative and intensely personal, her paintings fuse folklore and symbolism to illustrate her lived experience. They often combine binary elements—night and day, masculine and feminine, being in two places at once, or dual versions of Kahlo herself.
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The version of herself that she shared with the public, a distinct persona of bohemian Mexicanidad and liberal politics, is part of what still renders her a pop culture icon today (a new documentary will premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival). Kahlo entranced many significant 20th-century photographers—including Lola Álvarez Bravo, Carl Van Vechten, Nickolas Muray, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston, Julien Levy, and Dora Maar—who left behind exposures of the artist that continue to fuel our fascination with all things Frida Kahlo.
Source: artnews.com