What Is Frida Kahlo's Identity?

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter of mixed heritage, born on July 6 1907, and lived a short life of 47 painful years before passing away on July 13, 1954.Throughout her life, she painted numerous profound self-portraits and ‘Is best known for a collection of highly emotive and deeply political paintings’ (Glass 239). There are two specific self-portraits that are absolutely breathtaking ‘Two Fridas, 1930’ and ‘Henry ford hospital, 1932’. The main theme in both of these paintings is ‘Identity’ and these paintings are a depiction of her physical pain and struggle, which are indeed a big part of her identity.

Frida was married to Diego Rivera for a short period of time, ‘her marriage with the world famous muralist Diego Rivera, her husband's infidelities,

The painting portrays two different personalities of Frida, one Frida is the one Diego loved, while the other is liberated and the one Diego rejected or scorned. Frida had a lot of interest in the Mexican culture and traditions, ‘There are two major undercurrents running through Kahlo's art: a deeply rooted love of nature; and an uncontained admiration for Mexico, its people, its history and its cult.’ (Glass 242). Thus, In the portrait, one Frida is shown traditionally wearing a Tehuana costume, with a broken heart and she is also shown attached and holding hands with a more independent and modern Frida. The heart of the traditional Frida is wounded and torn open, the blood from it is dripping over her white dress representing the death of old Frida and her hopelessness. The artery from the old Frida’s heart is attached to the heart of new Frieda signifying her birth. Furthermore, the background is a stormy sky with a sense of urgency and chaos. The work overall is a representative of her liberation and sovereignty from her old, despairing persona to a new more independent personality.

In addition to all the tragedies in Kahlo’s life, her accident at the age of 18 changed her life, the accident left her with numerous injuries. It also caused her pelvis to rapture along with