Frida Kahlo The Lioness of Mexico

When looking over the masters of the art world, two main characteristics seem to define them. First, they are almost exclusively western, in the earlier days European with American artists starting to join the group in the 19th century. Second, they are almost exclusively male. Sure, there is the odd Mary Cassatt but on the whole, Van Gogh. Monet, Da Vinci, Klimt, El Greco and more were all male. An exception to all of the above, because of course we need here to look at the exception that proves the rule, is Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Following an unfortunate traffic accident in 1925, Frida Kahlo turned away from her earlier career choice of medicine in order to devote herself to painting. The accident left her with plenty of time on her hands and since she was not able to move much, she spent much of that time painting. It was already at this time that portraits of herself became a main subject of hers. In her own words, she was the subject she knew best, and all the time she spend alone further increased the appeal of using the one subject who was always present - herself.

In life she partnered with fellow artist Diego Rivera, who is known for his murals and fresco paintings. In life, she was known mostly as his wife. He in turn worked both in Mexico and in the US where he created iconic works like Detroit Industry. However, Frida Kahlo has her distinctively own style and her own art, which itself has also helped define the style of Mexico and Latin America, probably even more so than that of her husband.

Her style of painting was characterized as distinctly Mexican, some even referred to it as folks art. Others referred to it is surrealist but whatever the label, it has today been widely recognized both inside and outside Mexico. As with many prominent artists, her recognition was mostly after her death. It came first in Mexico in the 80s with the Neomexicanismo movement, and later also abroad with in the US with exhibitions and even an opera based on her. She is also today featured on the Mexican 500 peso note. Her painting Roots was sold at auction in 2006 for USD 5.6 million, a record amount for a Latin American work.

But Frida Kahlo was not only an exceptional artist, she was an exceptional woman. Suffering her whole life from an ongoing list of complications arising from her childhood car accident, she nevertheless made her mark as an artist and as a woman. She took on what was a distinctively male profession, taught herself while she was not even able to move, and ended up succeeding and becoming the Latin American artist with the highest amount paid for her work. It sounds like the stuff of Hollywood, and Hollywood has actually already been there. The 2002 movie Frida had Salma Hayek portraying Frida Kahlo. Among the latest recognitions was the Google logo which on her birthday contained her portrait in 2010. In our day and age, more widely distributed recognition is hard to find.