Staff Writer
Frida Kahlo was a well-known Hispanic artist who gained popularity in the early ’70s but began painting from 1927 to 1954. Frida used her art as an intense form of self-expression and venting. Frida frequently touched on tender subjects such as the nude human body, death (suicide), androgyny (gender), violence, miscarriages, child-birth, and more. Frida was recognized for not conforming to society’s beauty standards with her art because she would add androgynous traits to her appearance in paintings, such as a unibrow, mustache, and masculine clothing. Kahlo consciously did this to her self-portraits for the basic reason of defying gender norms; Frida refused to alter the masculine features she gave herself in portraits.
Frida Kahlo was born on July 6th, 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico. Frida grew up in a family’s house, now referred to as “The Blue House” (Casa Azul). She had a Father of German Descent and a half-Indian, half-Spanish Mother. Frida also lived with her two older sisters (Matilde and Adriana) and one younger sister (Cristina). Frida was very close with her father who worked as a professional photographer, she spent time with him in his studio where she gained a keen eye for detail. Kahlo had poor health during her adolescence, she contracted Polio at age 6 causing her to become bedridden for nine months. Polio led to Frida’s right leg developing much smaller than her left, she was given a limp after she recovered but began to wear attire in order to hide her deformity.
Frida attended a National Preparatory School in 1922, in Frida’s education she took art classes but science interested her much more as she originally wanted to study medicine. This is where Frida first encountered Diego Rivera, he was painting a mural for the school auditorium at Frida’s high school. Three years later, at 18 years old Frida was involved in a horrific bus accident. Injured severely, Frida was left with 11 fractures to one of her legs, a broken spinal column, collarbone, ribs, and pelvis. Due to the accident and her injuries, Frida was given no other choice but to drop her plans of going to school and studying medicine. Frida’s physical disadvantages inhibited her from doing daily activities, she taught herself how to paint on a lap easel given to her by her parents to fill the hours.