“Art is man’s constant effort to create for himself a different order of reality from that which is given to him.”
–Chinua Achebe
Frida made this painting on her return to Mexico
once she had separated from Diego Rivera.
The Mexican painter Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, however, she used to call 1910 her birth year, the year of the outbreak of the Mexican revolution. She was one of the most influential artists of the last century. Today, she is considered as the most important Mexican artist who redefined contemporary Mexican art.
Some of her work is reflection of her life, which was a life of exuberance and suffering. Hit by polio when she was three years old was not enough when at the age of 18 she was severely injured in a tragic car accident. Her personal pains are visible in her works. Her brightly coloured paintings actually belie scenes of trauma and distress. However, it will be understatement to her work if it is reduced to her personal experiences and pains.
Her paintings also reflect her social awareness. She allied with international communist movement and was member of the Communist Party of Mexico. Commenting on her work she once said, “I feel uneasy about my painting… Above all, I want to transform it into something useful for the communist revolutionary movement.” For many feminists, she was and is an inspiring figure and an icon of freedom, radicalism and independence.