The Two Frida Kahlo Analysis

1. The work of art is named The Two Fridas and was created by Frida Kahlo. It is located in the Museo de Arte Moderno, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, in Mexico City. The style of this piece is a naïve surrealist double self-portrait. The size of this piece is 5 feet and 8 and ½ inches by 5 feet and 8 and ½ inches or 1.74 meters by 1.74 meters. The medium used to create this piece was oil on canvas. This piece was created in 1939. Frida Kahlo was born July 6, 1907 as Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon in Coyoacan, Mexico City, Mexico. She was a self-taught painter who is described as using the folk art style along with being a surrealist. Kahlo was of German descent on her father’s side and was of Mexican or mestizo descent on her …show more content…
This work of art depicts two women who look exactly the same sitting next to each other on the same bench, which appears to be made out of wicker and wood. They are easily recognizable due to the infamous uni-brow that has become a symbol of Kahlo’s. One woman appears to be in a white, almost European-esque, dress that has a pattern of flowers and birds along the bottom of the dress, while the top has ruffled sleeves and lace detailing that goes up and covers her neck. The woman next to her is wearing much simpler clothes that match the indigenous style of dress with a blue and yellow top that has a u-shaped neckline and a brown skirt with a white pleated detail at the bottom. Both women are holding hands with one another, in the center of the painting and both have their hearts out in the open. Although they are quickly recognizable, the hearts in each of the Fridas differs from the other with the Frida in white having a broken heart and the other Frida having a whole heart. The Frida in white is holding forceps that are holding an artery that is shared by both Fridas. The artery connects both of their hearts to each other, but it is only wrapped around the arm of the Frida in the indigenous Mexican clothing. Blood from the artery is spilling onto the white dress where the artery is severed. The Frida in the indigenous Mexican dress is holding a locket with a picture of presumably her husband, Diego Rivera, as a young boy. In the background, the sky is …show more content…
In this specific piece of art, Frida is demonstrating two very different side of her identity. The Frida in the European dress represents her Germanic roots that come from her father, while the Frida in the traditional Mexican dress represents her mestizo background that originates in her mother and her love for where she grew up. Frida was known to be part of the Mexican Communist Party and was proud of her indigenous heritage. This work of art was also created after her divorce with Diego Rivera in 1939. The Frida in the Tehuana dress reflects the woman Rivera loved due to the condition of her heart, as it appears to be whole. The other Frida who is more European is the Frida that Rivera no longer loves, as she has a broken heart. The traditional Frida also holds a locket with a photo of him that the artery is said to originate from which symbolizes her involvement with Rivera. Because of the European Frida holding the surgical tool that severs the artery, it is implied that she was attempting to separate herself from Rivera. The stormy background is a demonstration of the conflicting emotions Kahlo was experiencing during the divorce with Rivera. Kahlo once said that she “suffered two grave accidents in her life. One in which a streetcar knocked [her] down…The other accident is Diego.” Before Frida had admitted to the painting being a physical representation of her feelings of desperation and loneliness towards the divorce. This work of art also alludes to the popular