artists - Frieda Kahlo

In 1939 Frieda Kahlo, after a modest exhibition held in Paris, was the first 20th Century Mexican artist to have a work of hers purchased by the Louvre.

Plagued by constant pain during most of her life ~ the result of a childhood bout with polio and an auto accident as a teen, Frieda channeled her suffering on to canvas. Painting in an often surrealist style, her most consistent model was herself. Kahlo's work is remembered for its "pain and passion", and its intense, vibrant colors. Her work has been celebrated in Mexico as emblematic of national and indigenous tradition, and by feminists for its uncompromising depiction of the female experience and form.

She wed, divorced and re-wed the famed muralist [and notorious womanizer] Diego Rivera. The divorce may have occurred after one of the affairs. Their living quarters often were separate, although sometimes adjacent. She extracted her revenge, in part, by having affairs herself with both men and women; the most famous of her affairs with Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky.

Frieda Kahlo would have been 100 years of age yesterday. She is one of my favorite artists. This is my belated tribute to her work.

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FOR MORE INFO: Wikipedia's Frieda Kahlo; Lisa Rogers writes of the suicide of Dorothy Hale, on of Kahlo's more controversial works. Lisa also wrote of Kahlo's "Broken Column" at Prisoner in a corset. Actually, she's penned many well written items about Frieda Kahlo. Well worth the visit. | The image on the right is a sign in front of a Mexican restaurant, "Manana" in Montreal PQ, Canada. 605 Rue Ste-Denis.