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Frida Kahlo, born in Mexico City in 1907, suffered from polio at six and a near-fatal bus accident at 18, which led to her taking up painting. She married Diego Rivera in 1929, but their relationship was tumultuous due to his affairs and her own. Kahlo’s paintings were inspired by her emotional turmoil, including her marriage, miscarriages, and accident. She died in 1954, and her work is now exhibited worldwide.
Artist Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907. Her home in Mexico City was a house known as the Blue House. At the age of six, Kahlo was stricken with polio. This caused her right leg to appear much thinner than her left for the rest of her life. Later, she would be stricken with a much more serious disability.
Young Frida Kahlo has been described as a tomboy. In high school, she became the ringleader of a gang made up mostly of boys, who continually caused trouble. It was also at her National Preparatory High School that she met her future husband. Diego Rivera was a famous Mexican muralist who was painting the school auditorium when they met.
At the age of 18, Frida Kahlo was driving a bus when she was in a near-fatal accident. The bus crash left her with broken collarbone, spine, ribs and pelvis. Kahlo was bedridden for a month, encased in plaster and encased in a box-like structure.
Kahlo made a remarkable recovery and took up painting due to the boredom of being in bed. Although she achieved a miraculous cure, she was tormented by pain for the rest of her life. In her life, Frida Kahlo underwent thirty operations and often relied on alcohol and drugs to ease her pain.
Frida Kahlo married Diego Rivera in 1929. It was the beginning of a turbulent relationship. Rivera was much older than Kahlo and had many affairs. They divorced in 1940, but the divorce only lasted a year. Even though it seemed to be a love-hate relationship, Rivera helped Kahlo with painting her and she was the love of her life.
Frida Kahlo’s paintings are full of passion. She threw all of her emotional turmoil about her onto the canvas. Her anger at the marriage, her numerous miscarriages, and the grief she felt over her accident were all themes for her art. She soon gained recognition for her work all over the world.
Diego Rivera wasn’t the only one having affairs. During his lifetime, Kahlo would have affairs with many men, including Communist leader Leon Trotsky. When Trotsky was assassinated, the police considered both Rivera and Kahlo as suspects. Both were released, but for years Kahlo delighted in telling stories of how he invited Trotsky to Mexico to be assassinated.
Frida Kahlo held her only Mexican exhibit in 1953. Her health was not good at the time and she had to be carried inside the exhibit on a stretcher. Photographers, journalists and crowds of admirers besieged her. Kahlo spent the night entertaining the crowds and the show was a huge success. A year later, she Kahlo had to have her right leg amputated due to a gangrene infection.
Because of the amputation, Frida Kahlo has attempted suicide more than once. She died in 1954 in the Blue House where she was born. She was rumored to have committed suicide, but no official autopsy was performed. Frida Kahlo is now recognized as one of the most talented artists in the world and her work is exhibited in galleries around the world.
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