Frieda Kahlo Skit autobiography

My name is Frida Kahlo. I was born on July 6^th 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico. I contracted polio at age six, which left my right leg thinner than the left, I wore long skirts to disguise it. As a girl, I participated in boxing and other sports. In 1922, I was enrolled in the Preparatoria, one of Mexico's premier schools, where I was one of only thirty-five girls. I joined a gang at the school and fell in love with the leader, Alejandro Gomez Arias. During this period, I also witnessed violent armed struggles in the streets of Mexico City as the Mexican Revolution continued.

On September 17 1925, I was riding in a bus when the vehicle collided with a trolley car. I suffered serious injuries in the accident, including a broken spinal column, a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken pelvis, eleven fractures in my right leg, a crushed and dislocated right foot, and a dislocated shoulder. An iron handrail pierced my abdomen and my uterus, which seriously damaged my reproductive ability.

Although I recovered from my injuries and eventually regained my ability to walk, I was plagued by relapses of extreme pain for the remainder of my life. The pain was intense and often left me confined to a hospital or bedridden for months at a time. I underwent as many as thirty-five operations as a result of the accident, mainly on my back, my right leg and my right foot.

I painted to occupy my time during my temporary state of immobilization. my self-portraits became a dominant part of my life when I was immobile for three months after the accident. "I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best". My mother had a special easel made for me so I could paint in bed, and my father lent me his box of oil paints and some brushes.

Drawing on personal experiences, including my marriage, my miscarriages, and my numerous operations, My works are portrayals of pain. Of my 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits which often incorporate symbolic portrayals of physical and psychological wounds. "I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality".

I was deeply influenced by indigenous Mexican culture, which is apparent in my use of bright colors and dramatic symbolism. I frequently included the symbolic monkey in my paintings which are symbols of lust, yet I portrayed them as tender and protective symbols. Christian and Jewish themes are also often depicted in my work. I combined elements of the classic religious Mexican tradition with surrealist renderings.

At the invitation of André Breton, I went to France in 1939 and was featured at an exhibition of my paintings in Paris. The Louvre bought one of my paintings, The Frame, which was displayed at the exhibit. This was the first work by a 20th century Mexican artist ever purchased by the internationally renowned museum. As a young artist, I approached the famous Mexican painter, Diego Rivera, whose work I admired, asking him for advice about pursuing art as a career. He immediately recognized my talent and unique expression as truly special and uniquely Mexican. He encouraged my development as an artist and soon we began an intimate relationship with each other. We were married in 1929, despite the disapproval of my mother.

Our marriage often was tumultuous. Notoriously we both had fiery affairs. I was openly bisexual… I had affairs with both men (including Leon Trotsky) and women Rivera knew of… he tolerated my relationships with women, but my relationships with men made him jealous. For my part, I became outraged when I learned that Rivera had an affair with my younger sister, Cristina. We eventually divorced, but remarried in 1940. Our second marriage was as turbulent as the first. My death occurred on July 13, 1954 from pulmonary embolism. I had been sick from contracting gang green and the amputation of my right leg had a toll on me. The bronchopneumonia left me quite frail. In my diary I wrote: “I hope my exit is joyful-and I hope never to return.”