Frida Kahlo: A Painter by Accident
Frida Kahlo's 1925 accident was a turning point that transformed her life, leading her to make painting a symbol of resilience
Museo Frida Kahlo
Bank of Mexico Trust for the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums
Matilde Calderón and Guillermo Kahlo (0) by Guillermo KahloMuseo Frida Kahlo
The Blue House was a refuge of creativity and freedom
Frida's parents, Matilde Calderón, of Spanish and Indigenous descent, and the German-born Wilhelm Kahlo, merged a Catholic upbringing with science and philosophy in their home, helping Frida develop an artistic nature and a questioning of reality.
Frida had 3 sisters: Maty, skilled with finances; Adri, a great cook; and Cristi, her playmate. Frida said of her father: "Ever since I was a little girl, I'd had my eye on the paint box. […] He would affectionately say, 'You stole my colors,' because I never gave them back.
Boleta de Frida Kahlo by Escuela Nacional PreparatoriaMuseo Frida Kahlo
National Preparatory School
As a student, Frida Kahlo stood out academically and for her innate rebelliousness. At the National Preparatory School, her intelligence led her to join "Los Cachuchas," a critical group whose members would later become important figures in Mexican culture.
Catedral Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México Guillermo Kahlo, S/D (1922) by Catedral Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México Guillermo Kahlo, S/DMuseo Frida Kahlo
Mexico City's urbanization
The arrival of buses, operating alongside the tram lines, caused frequent accidents due to the lack of well-laid-out roads and traffic laws. The constant crashes were a regular headline in the city's newspapers.
El accidente. (1926-09-17) by Frida KahloMuseo Frida Kahlo
The Accident
Frida recounts what happened during the accident: "It's not true that you are aware of the crash, nor that you cry. I shed no tears. A man saw me bleeding tremendously, carried me, and laid me on a billiard table until the Red Cross picked me up.
Frida's medical history
Frida's medical history from 1948 describes the injuries the accident caused her: fractures and dislocations, as well as wounds, infections, and the use of her first corset.
Regarding how she got into painting, Frida explained: "I was terribly bored there in bed in a plaster cast, so I decided to do something. I stole some oil paints from my father, and my mother had a special easel made for me since I couldn't sit up. That's how I began to paint."
Cama de Frida Kahlo con un espejo colocado en el dintel by Bob Schalkwijk. and 2017Museo Frida Kahlo
The start of painting
Frida told her mother: "I'm not dead, and besides, I have something to live for; that something is painting."
It was she who came up with the idea of ceiling my bed in the Renaissance style. (...) She placed a mirror along the entire ceiling so I could see myself and use my image as a model."
Before the accident, Frida had made some watercolors and drawings. But the truth is, it wasn't until after the accident that she truly focused her energy on painting. Her first works were views of Coyoacán and portraits of her family and friends; in other words, she painted what was familiar to her.
Self-portrait wearing a velvet dress (1926) by Frida KahloMuseo Frida Kahlo
I paint myself because I am the subject I know best
Despite the complexity of her recovery, Frida demonstrated her strength. In 1926, she painted her first self-portrait, which had a Renaissance influence. In it, her defiant gaze and posture foreshadow one of the hallmarks of her work: expression through physicality.
Looking at his painting, we discover a body with the various changes it has undergone over the years, the ravages of his ailments, his different emotional states, his political stances, his notion of privacy, and his relationship with context and landscape.
Invitación de la exposición FRIDA KAHLO (1938) by Julien Levy GaleryMuseo Frida Kahlo
International recognition
Daily and physical challenges were a constant part of Frida's life. But that didn't stop her from growing in the field of painting. Her work led her to a solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in 1938.
She even exhibited her work at the Pierre Colle gallery in Paris. There, she mingled with major figures in the art world such as Yves Tanguy, Wassily Kandinsky, and Marcel Duchamp. Following this exhibition, the French government purchased her work, "The Frame."
Frida Kahlo in studioArchives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Expressing herself through colors and shapes
Of “The Two Fridas,” she expressed: "I believe it is simply a representation of loneliness. In other words, turning to myself to seek my own help (...). To express with colors and forms what I could not with words, and also the magnificent pleasure of painting for painting's sake, no matter what."
Frida recibiendo reconocimiento del Premio Nacional de Arte y Ciencia (1946) by Autor desconocidoMuseo Frida Kahlo
Recognized in her time, Frida received commissions to create paintings, such as the one titled "Moses," which earned her an honorable mention from the National Prize for Arts and Sciences in 1946.
Resilience and creativity
In 1953, Frida held her only solo exhibition in Mexico. Due to her deteriorating health, she arrived by ambulance and was later transferred to her bed, with the mirror on the canopy, where she painted many of her self-portraits and, by accident, began the legend of the painter.
Viva la vida (1954) by Frida KahloMuseo Frida Kahlo
Frida's legacy
"My paintings are well-painted; not with haste, but with patience. My painting carries within it the message of pain. I believe that, at least, it interests a few people [...] Painting completed my life. [...]"
Frida Kahlo. Painting by Accident. Curatorship of the Frida Kahlo Museum.
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