“I am left knowing that I love you more than my own skin. And though you may not love me as much, you do love me a little. Don’t you? If this is not true, I will always be hopeful that it could be. I adore you. -Frida”
Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic. - Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo’s lipstick imprint on her letter to Bertram Wolfe, March 24, 1936. She signs herself “Chicua,” an affectionate nickname given to her by Diego Rivera, and calls Wolfe “Boit.” (Bertram D. Wolfe papers, box 211, Hoover Institution Archives) "I don’t give a shit what the world thinks. I was born a bitch, I was born a painter, I was born fucked. But I was happy in my way. You did not understand what I am. I am love. I am pleasure, I am essence, I am an idiot, I am an alcoholic, I am tenacious. I am; simply I am…You are a shit." - Frida Kahlo, from an unsent letter to Diego Rivera On December 8th 1886, Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera was born in Guanajuato. Diego had a twin brother: Carlos, who died two years after they were born. He was an artist larger than life who did everything without measures: the number of paintings, the number of women, the quantity of food, the collection of precolumbian artifacts... everything was big about Diego. At the age of 42 he married, for the third time, Frida Kahlo who was 21 years old, they divorced 10 years later. On December 8 1940, at the age of 52, Diego remarried Frida in San Francisco. In the photograph above of December 8th 1940 we see Diego who signs the marriage certificate, Frida is sitting behind him and watches carefully, with a protective or maybe possessive hand on his shoulder. She wears a very elaborate dress from Huautla de Jimenez from the Mazatecos region, made of handwoven cotton embroidered with silk, wool threads, and decorated with satin ribbons. The precolumbian necklace, like most of her jewelry, was a present from Diego. Diego and Frida remained married till her death in 1954, he married again for the fifth time in 1955, and died two years later in Mexico City at the age of 71. "I' ve never believed in God, but I believe in Picasso." - Diego Rivera"
more: https://www.artsy.net/artist/diego-rivera On the Day of the Dead, celebrated every year on November 1 and 2, life meets death in a festival of memories and joy. Men, women and children honor and celebrate their beloved dead in a commemoration that is nearly 4000 years old. Colorful sugar skulls of all sizes can be seen everywhere in Mexico, Frida Kahlo used to create “offrenda” (altar) in her Blue House during this festivity; she also let herself being photographed in her bedroom holding a skull.
In Mexico death is perceived in a special way; often represented as the popular “Catrina”, death is present in every aspect of everyday life. Frida Kahlo painted a full size skeleton on top of the canopy bed, reproducing what she indeed had in her bedroom in the Casa Azul. 90 year ago, on September 17, 1925, at the age of 18, Frida Kahlo was riding in a bus that collided with a trolley car. As a result of the accident she suffered several injuries: a broken spinal column, a broken collarbone ribs and pelvis, eleven fractures in her right leg, a crushed and dislocated right foot, and a dislocated shoulder. Also, an iron handrail pierced her abdomen and her uterus. The accident left her in a great deal of pain, and she spent three months recovering in a full body cast. Although she recovered from her injuries and eventually was able to walk again, she was in extreme pain for the rest of her life. As a result of the accident during the following thirty years, she had as many as 35 surgeries, mainly on her back, her right leg and her right foot. The local newspaper reported the accident and described Frida as “the painter, sculptor and writer Señorita Galo.” Much later, Frida found a votive painting that described a scene very similar to her accident. She added: “Coyoacan” on the bus, and painted her characteristic uni-brow on the face of the victim bleeding on the street. At the bottom of the votive painting she wrote: "Mr. and Mrs. Guillermo Kahlo and Matilde C. de Kahlo give thanks to Our Lady of Sorrows for saving their daughter Frida from the accident which took place in 1925 on the corner of Cuahutemozin and Calzada de Tlalpah." Four weeks after her accident, Frida wrote a letter to Alejandro Gomez Arias: "...when you come, please bring some chocolate and a Balero, the same we had on the day (of the accident) which I lost on the bus. Your friend, who looks like a line on the landscape. Friducha.” "Because of the tiny little umbrella I was very sad. Life begins tomorrow... " Many years later, Frida talked about her accident: "I remember it was the 17th September 1925 ... Shortly after we (Frida and Alejandro) had entered the bus, the collision happened. First we were in another bus, but I had lost a little umbrella, and we got out to look for it, that´s why we got on that bus, which mutilated me. The accident happened ... My first thought was for a pretty colorful Balero, which I had bought that day. I wanted to look for it in the belief that all of this would not have any consequences. " Text sources: Wikipedia Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund Exhibition Guide 2008-2014 Kahlo, F. (2007). Now that you're leaving me, I love you more than ever. Munich: SchirmerGraf. Painting credits: #70: Frida Kahlo, Votive painting, after 1926, Oil on metal, 19,1 x 24,1 cm; Licensed replica © Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2008 Photo: First exhibition organized by the Seminary of Mexican Culture and installed in the Palacio de Bellas Artes, inaugurated on 20 November 1942. Frida Kahlo and appreciate the architect José Luis Cuevas (highest) among officials INBA. (Photograph unknown) Frida Kahlo painted „The wounded table“ (La Mesa Herida - Der verwundete Tisch) between end 1939 and January 1940. As in December 1939 the divorce from Diego Rivera became official, she reproduced her emotional pain in this painting. This painting was created for the International Surrealist Exhibition in the Galería de Arte Mexicano in Mexico City in January 1940. „The wounded table“ was subsequently shown in exhibitions in USA and Europe. It disappeared in 1955 on its way to an exhibition in Moscow. In the painting Frida is surrounded by objects which represent one aspect of her emotional situation. She looks directly at the viewer, she wears her Tehuana clothes and jewelry. Her hair are open on one side. A deep wound, no longer bleeding, can be seen on her neck. Frida gives to the Nayarit figure on her left side, a cup containing her last drops of blood so the Nayarit can drink it. Painting: The wounded Table, (La Mesa Herida),1940, Oil on Canvas 122 x 244 cm, Location unknown. Licensed replica © Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2008, see also: Frida Kahlo: a secret revealed. Look for more about this painting: http://www.fridakahlostory.com/frida-blog/frida-kahlo-secret-revealed …. and also here: http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/home/frida-kahlos-wounded-table Traditionally The wounded Table (1940, oil on canvas, 244 x 122 cm, location unknown) has been compared to The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci; the founders of the Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund researched the painting for three years before having it replicated, and have given the work a totally new interpretation.
The wounded Table is a representation of death (as separation), of the disintegration of Frida Kahlo’s mexicanidad and of her search for her own identity. NOTE: Diego Rivera felt committed to mexicanidad, by which he meant the return to Mexican origins in order for Mexican people to achieve their own social and cultural self-confidence and identity. By marrying Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo followed him in this commitment ….... …more about this story: http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/home/frida-kahlos-wounded-table Please look for more about this painting: http://www.fridakahlostory.com/frida-blog/frida-kahlo-la-mesa-heriada-the-wounded-table …. and also here: http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/home/frida-kahlos-wounded-table Over 85 years ago on August 21 1929 Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera married in Coyoacan, Mexico. She was 22 years old, Diego was 42. It was her first marriage, his third. Matilde Calderon, Frida’s mother, was against this marriage: not only Diego was 21 years older than Frida but he was twice divorced, atheist, communist and a known womanizer. Capturing Frida’s small frame near Diego appearance (she was 5' 3" tall and weighed 100 lbs, he was 6' and weighed nearly 300 lbs), Frida’s mother said: this is like the wedding between a dove and an elephant. In April 1931 while in San Francisco, Frida painted her wedding day in a double portrait: “Frieda and Diego Rivera”. The difference in height and proportion between the couple is realistic but Frida’s feet are painted so small that she seems to float, to have no ground to stand on. Rivera is portrayed as the artist while Frida presented herself as the small, young, pretty wife at his side. Diego eyes look directly at us from above while Frda’s looks into an empty space, lost. This painting describes Frida’s state of mind right after her wedding, and how she felt about herself. To make matters worse, when Frida exhibited this work in San Francisco at the exhibition: Wives of famous artists, one art journalist described the work as having any value only because it was painted by Mrs. Diego Rivera. Photograph above: Carl Van Vechten, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera about 1932: As the restrictions on this collection expired in 1986, the Library of Congress believes this image is in the public domain. Over the next decade, from 1929 to 1939, we observe how Frida developed from a hobby painter to the accomplished and powerful artist she became. In December 1939 Frida and Diego divorced, re-married one year later in San Francisco in December 1940. The relationship between Frida and Diego was complex, toxic and an example of two exceptional artists larger than life who can not stay together and can not stay apart. Painting #27, Frida Kahlo: Frieda and Diego Rivera, 1931 Oil on canvas, 100 x 79 cm, Licensed replica: ©Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2008 Nickolas Muray (15 February 1892 - 2 November 1965) was a Hungarian-born American photographer and Olympic fencer. Muray attended a graphic arts school in Budapest, where he studied lithography, photoengraving, and photography. In 1913, with the threat of war in Europe, Muray sailed to New York City. Muray quickly became recognized as an important portrait photographer, and his subjects included most of the celebrities of New York City. In 1926, Vanity Fair sent Muray to London, Paris, and Berlin to photograph celebrities, and in 1929 hired him to photograph movie stars in Hollywood. He also did fashion and advertising work. Muray's images were published in many other publications, including Vogue, Ladies' Home Journal, and The New York Times. Between 1920 and 1940, Nickolas Muray made over 10,000 portraits. His 1938's portrait of Frida Kaho, made while Kahlo sojourned in New York, attending her exhibit at the Julien Levy Gallery, became the best known and loved portrait made by Muray.
“My Bartolí…I don’t know how to write love letters. But I wanted to tell you that my whole being opened for you. Since I fell in love with you everything is transformed and is full of beauty…. love is like an aroma, like a current, like rain. You know, my sky, you rain on me and I, like the earth, receive you. Mara” — Frida Kahlo, October 1946 Read more at http://observer.com/2015/04/passion-penned-frida-kahlos-intimate-love-letters-of-an-illicit-affair-up-for-sale/#ixzz3YG4hFCq7 Follow us: @newyorkobserver on Twitter | newyorkobserver on Facebook Josep Bartolí, the last love of Frida Kahlo. In 1946 Frida Kahlo wrote a letter to her friend Ella Wolfe, in which she asked, "not to talk to anyone about this topic". This referred to her last great love, Josep Bartolíi (1910 - 1995), a Catalan painter. Frida Kahlo wrote about Josep Bartolí: "He's the only reason that gives me the desire to live." From 1946 to 1952 an intense love relationship grew between Frida Kahlo and Josep Bartolí, this love was known only to a few friends and accomplices. Painting: Self portrait miniature, 1946, Oval Miniature on wood, 4,1 x 3,8 cm, Original: Private Collection, New York, USA; Licensed replica: ©Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2008 Photo: Josep Bartolí. Un creador a l'exili - DVD original que realiza la función de catálogo; Caricaturista político, dibujante, ilustrador, pintor, escritor…; DVD original que realiza la función de catálogo de una exposición propiciada por el Ayuntamiento de Barcelona durante los meses de diciembre de 2003 y enero de 2004. Producido por MetrònomLab Josep Bartolí was a quiet man who kept the secret known only to few of his friends while Frida wrote to her friend Ella Wolfe in New York: "No one here knows anything, only Cristi (Cristina, Frida´s sister), Enrique (Frida driver), you and I know the person who is at stake." To further hide their relationship, she wrote to Ella: "If you want to ask about him in your letters, ask for the name Sonja.'' At the end of the letter, Frida wrote: "Don't forget to destroy this letter in order to avoid future misunderstandings. Will you promise that? ". "Frida is the love of my life." Josep said of Frida; she is very sweet, loving, romantic. She is very intelligent and a great artist. " You may say that I really love him " Frida wrote in her letter to Ella. Josep Bartolí kept all 40 letters of Frida throughout his life, one was able to recognize the letters of Frida by their perfume, and Josep Bartolí could repeat every word, every line of the letters by heart, as they were imprinted in his memory. As Josep Bartolí died in 1995, his family found a chest with his memories of Frida: her hair ribbons, scarves, letters, sketches and a small medallion that Frida had painted and given to him. On the back of the miniature Frida Kahlo wrote in red: CON AMOR PARA BARTOLI - MARA "For Bartoli, with love. Mara ". Mara was the secrete name Frida signed her love letters to Bartoli. Mara as "Maravilla" (Wonderful in Spanish). When Frida Kahlo died in 1954, Diego Rivera (her husband) established that the room with her wardrobe should remain locked for 50 years. In April 2004 this room was opened and many pieces of her wardrobe were found, this allowed the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico to recreate and partly to repair Frida Kahlo dresses and underwear. The opening of the room and the process of identifying her clothes was described in a book: “Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress. The Fashion of Frida Kahlo”. 2008. The famous blouses of Frida are called “Huipile” (= blouse). The Huipile is a garment worn by the Maya women in southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Western Honduras. Today it is still worn in the area of the isthmus of Tehuantapec, Southern Mexico The Isthmus of Tehuantepec provides the shortest route over land between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the construction of the Panama Canal this was the main traffic artery, and it was known as the Tehuantepec route. Geographically, the isthmus separates North - from Central America. The Huipile is a garment with great personal and communication power. The pattern of the Huipile reveals the location, the social and family status, the religious background of the woman who wears it. It also makes statements about faith and prosperity. The Huipile is a testimony of the highest Mayan weaving art. Huipiles are usually made of two or three layers of fabric connected with decorative embroidery. They are then folded and sewn together, with an opening left in the middle for the head. Each Huipile (blouse) and Falta (skirt) is unique. Flower motifs are embroidered by hand. The geometric patterns are hand-woven. If a woman is lucky, she owns one or two Huipiles to wear daily. Often she owns another Huipile for special occasions such as weddings, festivals and religious ceremonies. A woman has only a very limited number of Huipiles throughout her life. A well woven Huipile can be worn for 20 to 30 years. Then, when the Huipile can no longer be worn, it is divided into small pieces of cloth and used as a carpet or sown into a quilt. The Maya art of weaving went almost lost in recent years. Today, however, weaving cooperatives have been founded to revive the Mayan art again. Moreover studies are conducted to preserve the knowledge of the old methods of weaving and colouring the textiles. The use of specific patterns is sacred, as they are related to the "holy dreams of the girls”. For the Mayas, dreams were of great importance, they believed that dreams conveyed messages from the spiritual world. The Huipiles (blouses) in the exhibition of the Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund are original from Mexico. They are exactly in the style as Frida Kahlo used to wear and to paint. The black and gold Huipile in the exhibition is original from Oaxaca, a rare piece from the period 1920-1930. Source: from the lecture: "The Dresses of Frida: Meaning, History and Secrets." Dr. M.C. Remund, Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund, Baden-Baden, 2009. |