The iconic Mexican painter seen through nearly 300 archival items, from her wardrobe to her personal art collection. This collection presents the rich diversity of themes, ideas, concepts and emotions generated around two fundamental and emblematic figures of modern Mexico: the painter Frida Kahlo and her husband, the muralist Diego Rivera. More than 300 images from the archives of Mexico City's Museo Frida Kahlo offer readers a glimpse into Frida Kahlo's distinctive wardrobe and the impressive collections of folk and pre-Hispanic art she and Rivera assembled, her connection with photography and the history of La casa azul, her beloved blue house that today serves as the museum's main building.
This volume welcomes us into the world of Frida Kahlo, exploring the legacy of a key figure in twentieth-century art and culture, in her native Mexico and around the world. Frida Kahlo (1907-54) began painting at the age of 18, when she was immobilized for several months following a bus accident that left her permanently disabled. From then on, art was an immense source of healing for Kahlo, as well as a means of self-expression and cultural exploration. At the heart of Kahlo's practice were her love of Mexican folk tradition, her ardent communist beliefs and her complex relationship with her body, gender and sexuality. A long-time activist, Kahlo died of a pulmonary embolism after taking part in a demonstration against the CIA invasion of Guatemala.
