Museo Frida Kahlo
Bank of Mexico Trust for the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums
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
ReadMatilde Calderón and Guillermo Kahlo (0) by Guillermo KahloMuseo Frida Kahlo
The Blue House, cradle of art, rebellion and belonging
The Blue House, Frida Kahlo's home, reflected the fusion of her roots: her mother, Matilde Calderón, was Mexican of Spanish origin; and her father, Guillermo Kahlo, was German. Frida's love of the folk arts shaped her character and she found her calling in painting.
Frida remembered her father painting by the Coyoacán River, recreating landscapes and figures. From a young age, she was drawn to his box of colors, which she borrowed while he was convalescing in bed. Guillermo Kahlo tenderly gave it to her "like a child who has a toy taken away to give to a sick brother." Years later, he would affectionately say to her, "You stole my colors." That anecdote marked Frida's first steps toward painting, born from her fragility and inner strength.
Matilde, Adriana, Frida and Cristina Kahlo (1916) by Guillermo KahloMuseo Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo and her sisters: childhood in Coyoacán
Frida grew up with her three sisters: Matilde, skilled with finances and caregiving; Adriana, dedicated to cooking and medicine; and Cristina, her close accomplice. These family ties shaped her childhood and the development of her character and artistic sensibility.
Boleta de Frida Kahlo by Escuela Nacional PreparatoriaMuseo Frida Kahlo
Frida and the caps
Frida was a brilliant and rebellious student. At 15, she entered high school with 34 other women and joined the "cachuchas," critical young people who would shape Mexico's cultural life. In her free time, she read in three languages at the Ibero-American Library.
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
The Accident
The 1925 accident marked a turning point in Frida Kahlo's life. During her convalescence, she found refuge and a new path in painting.
The urbanization of Mexico City
Urbanization in Mexico City in the 20th century grew with the massive influx of people from the interior, promoting new communication routes and infrastructure. The tramway connected towns like Xochimilco and Coyoacán, but the lack of roads and regulations caused frequent accidents.
Alejandro Gómez Arías
The trucks of my time were fragile, just beginning to circulate, and successful; the streetcars were empty. I boarded with Alejandro Gómez Arias; I sat on the side of the road, and he sat next to me. Moments later, the truck collided with a train on the Xochimilco line. (Kahlo & Tibol, 2005)
El accidente. (1926-09-17) by Frida KahloMuseo Frida Kahlo
Frida narrates the accident that marked her destiny
The accident happened in front of the San Lucas market; we had changed buses. The tram slammed the truck into the wall. I didn't shed any tears.
The collision threw us forward, and the handrail pierced me like a sword through a bull.
Frida's medical history
1926 – Frida suffered fractures to her spine, pelvis, foot, and elbow, as well as an abdominal wound caused by a metal pipe.
She spent three months with the Red Cross. Dr. Ortiz Tirado diagnosed the spinal injury and ordered a plaster cast; from then on, she lived in constant pain.
I never thought about painting until 1926, when an accident forced me to stay bedridden in a plaster cast. To distract myself, I used my father's oil paintings, and my mother had a special easel made with a mirror on the ceiling, since I couldn't sit down. So I began to paint my first picture and discovered in painting a reason to live, transforming pain into creation.
Cama de Frida Kahlo con un espejo colocado en el dintel by Bob Schalkwijk. and 2017Museo Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo: the 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 painted some watercolors and drawings. But it wasn't until after the accident that her energies were focused on painting. Her first works were views of Coyoacán, 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
The evolution of Frida: a voice of her own
Although often considered autobiographical, Frida's painting goes further: she began with portraits and intimate scenes, influenced by naive and Renaissance art, and later found her voice in Stridentism and pre-Hispanic art. Her body became the vehicle for narrating her inner world.
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
Frida's challenges
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.
That didn't stop Frida from painting: her talent led her to hold a solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in 1938, where she surprised with her originality and unique vision. Shortly after, she presented her work at the Pierre Colle Gallery in Paris, sharing space with figures such as Yves Tanguy, Wassily Kandinsky, and Marcel Duchamp. It was following this exhibition that the French government acquired The Frame, becoming Frida's first work to enter a public collection.
Las dos Fridas (1939) by Frida KahloMuseo Frida Kahlo
The two Fridas
Frida explained The Two Fridas as a reflection of loneliness: two figures holding hands, hearts connected by arteries, one broken with tweezers, the other tied to a childhood portrait of Diego. The dark background expresses the relationship between her inner life and him.
Renowned in her time, she received commissions to create paintings such as "El Moisés," which earned her an honorable mention in the 1946 National Prize for Arts and Sciences.
Frida Kahlo's solo exhibition
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
Painting completed my life
"My paintings are well done, not lightly, but with patience. They carry within them the message of pain. Painting made my life complete. I lost three children and other things that would have filled my horrible life. Painting replaced all of that."
Fragments of a Life, 1954
Frida Kahlo. Painting by Accident. Curatorship of the Frida Kahlo Museum.
