How Does Folk Art Set Frida Apart?

The key element that distinguishes Latin American countries from the rest of the world is the cultural wealth that their early civilizations have contributed to their modern development. Take a walk through the streets of Mérida, Chichicastenango, or Otavalo, and you will discover a completely unique melting pot of identities. This distinctive social fabric is personified by the Yucatecan mestiza (mixed-race woman), dressed in exquisitely embroidered traditional costume and speaking in Mayan on the latest smartphone: a sure sign that she has managed to retain all her traditional cultural beliefs while integrating them into her everyday, 21st-century life.

This same phenomenon is illustrated in Frida Kahlo's art. As the daughter of a German photographer, Guillermo Kahlo, and his Oaxacan wife, Matilde Calderón, Frida grew up with 2 distinctive ethnic influences; she represents the union of the traditional cultures of both her father and mother. Frida's early work is a testament to this cultural synthesis, which shaped her unique artistry and continued throughout her entire career.

European and Western cultures were part of the everyday in Frida's house. Her father had a commercial studio, where he used long lengths of cloth as backgrounds to take portraits of his clients. These were mostly snowy Bavarian landscapes, which Frida helped paint. Her father was able to recreate these scenes with great familiarity, having spent time in Bavaria in his youth before emigrating to Mexico.

These experiences were equally matched by her mother's evocative recollections of the indigenous traditions of Oaxaca. She had photographs of her family all dressed in the traditional Juchitán or Tehuantepec style. Her mother's possessions included some black clay bells, which Frida used as a metaphor to describe her. The kitchen would be filled with the aroma of black "mole" chilli sauce, "tlayudas" (a Oaxacan-style tortilla pizza), and thick drinking chocolate accompanied by sweet bread.

The regional nostalgia instilled by her mother can also be appreciated in this picture: it is a perfect example of this dual tradition so often found in Frida's paintings. Although she adopted a European aesthetic, she also incorporated a whole host of iconography from Mexican folklore. The symbolism of the Popocatépetl volcano dates back to Nahua mythology. The "adelitas" were indigenous women who followed their partners—peasants from all over the country—to fight for the revolution. This syncretism gives Kahlo's work a unique visual impact.

Frida had been a fan of folk art in her younger years, but she only fully came to understand it after marrying Diego Rivera in 1929, since he was an unequivocal admirer of the indigenous voice. After they got married, Frida began to incorporate a series of elements into her work that would soon become her hallmark, such as the papier-mâché sculptures made for "Semana Santa," or Holy Week, known as "Judases."

One of the most important sculptors to have come out of Mexico was Carmen Caballero Sevilla, who created the most extraordinary "Judases" of that time, and was a good friend of Frida and Diego. Another remarkable sculptor and friend of the couple was Pedro Linares, who pioneered the folk art known as "alebrijes": sculptures of hybrid mythological creatures.