Life

Childhood

"The daughter of a Mexican and a German photographer is born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacán, a southern borough of Mexico City. Magdalena Carmen Frieda, grows up there with three sisters and two half-sisters. At the age of six, Frida becomes seriously sick. The doctors assume poliomyelitis – only in the 1930s experts diagnose a congenital malformation of the spine. The girl spends months in bed, recovery progresses only slowly. Consequently the right leg remains thinner and shorter. Frida is nevertheless athletic and loves swimming and cycling."

Artwork

"They lived at the Blue House, which today hosts the Kahlo-Museum. 1910 marks the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Frida Kahlo later changed her year of birth to 1910 so that her life would start at the same time as the new Mexico. She takes out the “e” from her name and calls herself simply “Frida”. Throughout her life, Frida painted 143 pictures in total – 55 are self-portraits and tell about the pain, mental and physical, which is part of her entire life. Her characteristic facial features, the brows and the mustache, are exaggerated in her paintings."

Dedication

"On September 25th, 1925, Frida is on a bus which collides with a tram. In doing so, a handrail pierces through the back and pelvis of the young woman. She suffers most serious orthopedic and gynecological injuries. Lying in bed Frida Kahlo paints numerous pictures. Her creative power is – despite or exactly because of her pain – tremendous."

Love

In 1928, she meets the love of her life: the Mexican painter Diego Rivera. Art connects the two but also their political views and passionate patriotism. The two get married twice – in 1929 and in 1940 – with countless affairs on his and her side, with men and women. At the end, however, their attraction to each other wins.

Recognition

"Frida Kahlo manages to make a name for herself as artist. She creates work that shows her suffering, her maltreated body, her countless miscarriages, the never-ending pain. Among her most famous work are paintings such as “The Two Fridas” (1939)"

Health

The hospital stays becomes longer, soon she has to wear the body cast constantly. One leg is amputated and the wheelchair becomes her constant companion. Frida Kahlo passes away in the Blue House on July 13th,1954. Officially the artist dies from pulmonary embolism.