Frida Kahlo: Courage Through Art

At six years old, Frida Kahlo contracted polio, and the illness socially isolated her and forced her to live a more reclusive life. She has described her family life as painful and very sad, having had parents with multiple health issues as well as a strained marriage. Despite her illness and being disabled, Kahlo had plans to head to medical school. But when she was 18 years old, she was in a severe bus accident and suffered serious injuries that put her in a full body cast and confined her to bed. During this time, Kahlo began to paint, and her interest in art flourished. Her mother gave her an easel that she could use in bed, and her father gave her oil paints. She began to combine her interests in science and art. Painting began to be a way for her to explore identity, her life, and existence. She has said that what she learned from science, literature, nature, and philosophy allowed her to regain her strength as she used them in her artwork. She is known for her many paintings, including self-portraits and works that showcase nature and artifacts of Mexico. 

Her paintings often show root imagery growing out of a body to represent personal growth and an ambiguous sense of the past influencing the present. Her work as an artist was relatively unknown until the late 1970s, when it was rediscovered by historians. By the 1990s, she became a recognized figure in art history for women, Chicanos, the LGBTQ+ community, and the feminist movement. She was courageous because her art was used as a means to reinterpret and explore her trauma and battles, challenge the status quo, and overcome cultural barriers. She is a celebrated Mexican painter whose work has resonated with many and helped stir a new movement in history, exploring themes of identity and death, and drawing new attention to Mexican and indigenous culture.