Diego and Frida: A Smile at Halfway

Frida and Diego are icons of the Mexican identity and unconditional love.

Diego Rivera and his twin brother, Carlos, were born in December 1886, although Carlos died 18 months later. The tragedy would haunt the painter throughout his life; he depicted his brother in several of his murals, including "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park."

Diego began studying at the Academy of San Carlos at a young age, and in 1905 he won a scholarship, allowing him to continue his training in Paris.

In 1907, Rivera was studying art in Spain; on July 6 of that year, Frida Kahlo was born in Mexico City, in the Blue House in Coyoacán.

In September 1910, Rivera decided to return to Mexico to display his work from his time in Europe, though soon after he returned to the Old Continent.

This is the year that Frida Kahlo decided would be the year of her "birth," having fully identified with the revolutionary ideals, and considering herself to be the daughter of the Mexican Revolution.

Diego returned to Mexico in 1921 and began work on a mural entitled "The Creation" in the Bolívar amphitheater within the National High School. Frida Kahlo joined this institution in 1922, and it was there that they met.

As well as having a mutual love for art, both were activists of the Mexican left.

Six years later, Frida showed Diego her work, who offered the effusive encouragement: "Carry on, young lady. You have talent."  Their romance blossomed, and in 1929 the couple married. It was Kahlo's first marriage, but Rivera's third.