The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo once said, "I suffered two grave accidents in my life, one in which a streetcar knocked me down. The other accident is Diego." For much of her life, pain tortured Kahlo’s body, while her stormy marriage to the artist Diego Rivera tortured her heart. But the pain and heartbreak she suffered inspired her to create beauty from tragedy. When Frida Kahlo picked up a paintbrush, she used vibrant colors and unusual, powerful images to portray her struggles and deepest emotions.
Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, in Coyoacán, a small town near Mexico City. Her father, Guillermo, was a photographer, and her mother, Matilde, was a deeply religious woman who took pride in caring for the family home, La Casa Azul (the Blue House). Of his six daughters, Frida was her father’s favorite. When she was six years old, she was stricken by poliomyelitis. Encouraged by doctors to be active, she helped her adoring father in his studio, setting up cameras and lights and learning to develop pictures. Polio made Frida’s right leg thinner and shorter than her left one. Despite her deformity, however, she was a happy, boyish girl who enjoyed boxing and biking.
When Frida entered Mexico’s National Preparatory School in 1922, she dreamed of becoming a doctor. At 15, Frida was bright, eager, and ambitious. Her striking looks—dark eyes, thick eyebrows—and outgoing personality made her popular among her classmates. Diego Rivera, a famous Mexican artist, was painting a mural at the school, and Frida skipped some of her classes to watch him work. Rivera’s murals depicted Mexico’s culture, industry, and political struggles. Even though the painter was twenty years older than Frida, she developed a crush on him.
On September 17, 1925, Frida’s life changed forever. She was riding a bus home from school when a streetcar crashed into it. The bus was torn in half, and Frida was badly hurt. Her spine and pelvis were fractured, her right leg and foot were broken, and a handrail pierced her abdomen. She would never be able to have a child. For months, Frida lay in bed, a plaster cast covering much of her body. The cost of her medical care wiped out the family’s savings, and her parents took a loan against La Casa Azul to pay the bills. Frustrated, bored, and in pain, Frida began painting to express her feelings and entertain herself. Her mother placed a mirror in the canopy of Frida’s bed, and using a lap easel, Frida painted both self-portraits and portraits of friends who came to see her.
By 1927, Frida had regained her ability to walk. Although she would always suffer physical pain, she returned to an active life. It was a time of political upheaval, and Frida joined others in calling for an end to the dictatorship controlling Mexico. She met writers, musicians, and artists who expressed similar political ideas in their work, and painting became Frida’s passion. When she heard that Diego Rivera was doing a mural on the walls of a nearby government building, she visited him and asked him to look at her paintings. Rivera came to La Casa Azul and praised her work, beginning a relationship that would change both their lives.
Diego and Frida were quickly attracted to each other. Rivera, 43, was charming and politically active, while Frida, 22, was a spirited, hopeful young painter. Her family did not approve of the match, and Frida’s father even warned Diego that Frida would be sick all her life. Nevertheless, Frida married Diego in 1929. When Diego paid off the loan on La Casa Azul, his kindness only strengthened Frida’s love for him.
In 1930, Frida left Mexico for the first time when Diego was hired to paint murals in the United States. The couple traveled from San Francisco to New York and then Detroit. Frida often wore beautiful, traditional Mexican clothing and attracted attention wherever she went. Before long, she began to make friends and meet important art collectors. She continued to suffer complications from her accident, however, and she was homesick. Frida and Diego returned to Mexico in 1933 and built a new home, complete with side-by-side studios, but the next few years were turbulent. Frida faced long hospital stays as she underwent more surgery. Diego was unfaithful, and Frida began to have affairs too—their marriage was falling apart. Frida moved out of their new house and got her own apartment, but she missed Diego terribly and soon went back to him.
By the late 1930s, Frida was gaining attention as an artist. In 1938, her paintings were shown in a New York City gallery. Critics praised her work, but the intensity of the paintings, some of which contained shocking images of blood and wounds, made many people uncomfortable. In 1939, Frida went to Europe, where her paintings were displayed in a Paris gallery. It was an exciting time for her, but when she returned to Mexico, she discovered that Diego was seeing yet another woman. Frida moved back to La Casa Azul, and she and Diego divorced; but despite their fights and heartaches, the couple decided to reconcile. They remarried in 1940, never to separate again. The next decade became the most creative period of Frida’s life.
During the 1940s, she created many vivid self-portraits, painting what she felt was the truth of her life. The lingering effects of the bus accident and her troubled marriage were both central subjects in her work, and she used symbols—images of animals, plants, buildings, and more—to express herself. She addressed the fears she had felt ever since her accident by painting her broken body and images of death. She conveyed both the love and insecurity she felt in her marriage with many portraits of Diego. By 1950, Frida had become a highly respected artist, but the pain in her body was increasing. She had been through more than thirty operations and endured another when her right leg was amputated below the knee because of gangrene. She returned to the comfort of La Casa Azul to recover. Despite her failing health, when Frida’s paintings were displayed in Mexico City in 1953, she insisted on visiting the exhibit on opening night. Friends carried her bed to the gallery and placed her on it. Surrounded by her paintings, she enchanted the guests with songs and laughter.
Frida Kahlo died at age 47 on July 13, 1954. She once said, "I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality." Her reality—which included immense physical and emotional pain—was one that many people could not imagine, but she expressed it in her work. Today, Frida has found her place in history as a world-famous artist. Every year, people from around the world travel to La Casa Azul, which is now a museum, so they can learn about Frida and her art. As they walk through the house, past Frida’s wheelchairs and canes, they are reminded of her suffering. But her beautiful paintings also remind the visitors of a greater truth—that Frida Kahlo had the strength and courage to choose art over pain and sorrow.