Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) is thought of today as one of Mexico's greatest artists. Her most famous paintings are self-portraits. Of her 143 paintings, 55 were self-portraits. She once said, "I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.”
Kahlo grew up during the Mexican Revolution and was part of the Mexicanidad movement, which celebrated indigenous Mexican culture. She painted in a Magical Realist folk art style, with the colors and imagery of Mexican indigenous culture. Magical Realism combines realistic detail with surrealistic imagery. In the painting shown above, Roots, Kahlo depicts herself lying on rocky ground with vines growing out of her chest. The details are very realistic, but the image itself is surreal.
In 1939, the Louvre bought one of her paintings. The Frame. It was the first 20th-century painting by a Mexican artist purchased by any internationally renowned museum. She was also the first artist to have a painting sell for more than $1 million. And in 2001, Frida Kahlo became the first Hispanic woman to appear on a U.S. postage stamp.
Since the 1970s, Frida Kahlo has become an icon to many in the feminist, LGBTQIA and socialist worlds. She was strongly independent, bisexual, and a lifelong member of the Mexican Communist party.
Frida Kahlo survived polio at 6 years old but with one leg shorter than the other. She always wore long skirts to hide it. Then when she was 21, she was in a terrible accident when the tram she was in was hit by a car. She was in a full body cast for a month, then confined to bed for another few months. This was when she took up painting, to pass the time. As a self-taught artist, Kahlo had no connections in the professional art world, so it took some time before she was noticed and promoted by another artist. She also married Diego Rivera, a highly regarded muralist, and traveled a lot with him for his mural commissions.
Kahlo was in constant pain for the rest of her life from her accident—she had 30 surgeries over the years. As her health deteriorated, she began to wear the bright colors and makeup she is known for to distract people from her disabilities.