Art Explained
The Broken Column,
Size: 44 x 33cm
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Year: 1944
Painted shortly after Kahlo underwent more surgery to slow the
inevitable degeneration of her spine, the Broken Column is a representation of the physical and emotional pain. During this time doctors prescribed a variety of pain medication and orthopaedic corsets to help support her, one of which is depicted in the portrait. Many art critics have related this piece to Kahlo's accident and the acute pain she felt during those long months, despite it being painted nearly 19 years after its occurrence. This however is a depiction of the chronic pain she dealt with her whole life as a consequence of this accident.
Kahlo stands alone in the foreground of a barren landscape, a cavern of missing flesh violates the integrity of her body, exposing a column in the place of her spine. She is nude except for the white hospital sheet trapped around her hips and the metal corset which supports her whole body. Nails stick out all over her form, the largest of which is situated over her heart and is a direct reference to the emotional pain caused by her husband's infidelity. She looks straight ahead and wears a serious expression as tears stream down her face, her gaze challenging those who look upon her to accept the situation.
The use of hard vertical lines, plain hues and a soft texture on Frida's body provide a stark contrast to the soft horizontal lines, rough texture and mixture of tones and shades that have been used in the background. This is done as a means of turning Kahlo's frame into the focal point of the portrait. The principle of movement has been introduced into this pieces through the sheet and how it appears as though it is being blown against her body by the wind.
Key Words: pain, emotion, disability, symbolism, suffering, body image, love, isolation
References
http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=12902
http://learner.org/courses/globalart/work/57/index.html
http://www.fridakahlo.org/the-broken-column.jsp
Size: 44 x 33cm
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Year: 1944
Painted shortly after Kahlo underwent more surgery to slow the
inevitable degeneration of her spine, the Broken Column is a representation of the physical and emotional pain. During this time doctors prescribed a variety of pain medication and orthopaedic corsets to help support her, one of which is depicted in the portrait. Many art critics have related this piece to Kahlo's accident and the acute pain she felt during those long months, despite it being painted nearly 19 years after its occurrence. This however is a depiction of the chronic pain she dealt with her whole life as a consequence of this accident.
Kahlo stands alone in the foreground of a barren landscape, a cavern of missing flesh violates the integrity of her body, exposing a column in the place of her spine. She is nude except for the white hospital sheet trapped around her hips and the metal corset which supports her whole body. Nails stick out all over her form, the largest of which is situated over her heart and is a direct reference to the emotional pain caused by her husband's infidelity. She looks straight ahead and wears a serious expression as tears stream down her face, her gaze challenging those who look upon her to accept the situation.
The use of hard vertical lines, plain hues and a soft texture on Frida's body provide a stark contrast to the soft horizontal lines, rough texture and mixture of tones and shades that have been used in the background. This is done as a means of turning Kahlo's frame into the focal point of the portrait. The principle of movement has been introduced into this pieces through the sheet and how it appears as though it is being blown against her body by the wind.
Key Words: pain, emotion, disability, symbolism, suffering, body image, love, isolation
References
http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=12902
http://learner.org/courses/globalart/work/57/index.html
http://www.fridakahlo.org/the-broken-column.jsp
The Wounded Deer
Size: 22.4 x 30cm
Medium: Oil on Masonite
Year: 1946
This painting was painted in 1946 after yet another operation. Kahlo had hoped that this one would free her from the severe back pain she was experiencing but like all the others it failed. This painting is an expression of her extreme disappointment and sadness at the inability to change her own fate.
In this portrait Kahlo depicts herself with the body of a stag and her own head. She has been struck all over by a number of arrows and is bleeding from each wound. A background of dead trees encircle the stag and an opening out to the ocean implies how close she was to freedom before she was shot. The stormy blue sky adds a set of colours that makes the rest of the background stand out more than it should, given the limited use of colours. A golden branch that appears to have been snapped from a tree has been placed directly underneath the deer's body.
Kahlo has not used a wide variety of hues but the different tints, tones and shades makes it appear as though she has spent hours mixing colours. The deer's fur, bark on the trees and ground have all had texture introduced by using the varying mixed colours and proportion has been considered in each of these elements so nothing looks out of place. To get the shape of the deer's body Kahlo used her pet Granizo as a model.
Key Words: desperation, androgyny, sorrow, fear, anthropomorphism, symbolism, survival, pain, frustration
References
http://www.fridakahlo.org/the-wounded-deer.jsp
https://maaretta.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/life-is-pain-which-runs-through-the-brush-frida-kahlo%E2%80%99s-greatest-three-works/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28433765@N07/4308193235/
Size: 22.4 x 30cm
Medium: Oil on Masonite
Year: 1946
This painting was painted in 1946 after yet another operation. Kahlo had hoped that this one would free her from the severe back pain she was experiencing but like all the others it failed. This painting is an expression of her extreme disappointment and sadness at the inability to change her own fate.
In this portrait Kahlo depicts herself with the body of a stag and her own head. She has been struck all over by a number of arrows and is bleeding from each wound. A background of dead trees encircle the stag and an opening out to the ocean implies how close she was to freedom before she was shot. The stormy blue sky adds a set of colours that makes the rest of the background stand out more than it should, given the limited use of colours. A golden branch that appears to have been snapped from a tree has been placed directly underneath the deer's body.
Kahlo has not used a wide variety of hues but the different tints, tones and shades makes it appear as though she has spent hours mixing colours. The deer's fur, bark on the trees and ground have all had texture introduced by using the varying mixed colours and proportion has been considered in each of these elements so nothing looks out of place. To get the shape of the deer's body Kahlo used her pet Granizo as a model.
Key Words: desperation, androgyny, sorrow, fear, anthropomorphism, symbolism, survival, pain, frustration
References
http://www.fridakahlo.org/the-wounded-deer.jsp
https://maaretta.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/life-is-pain-which-runs-through-the-brush-frida-kahlo%E2%80%99s-greatest-three-works/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28433765@N07/4308193235/
Henry Ford Hospital
Size: 30.5 x 38cm
Medium: Oil on Metal
Year: 1932
Henry Ford Hospital also known as The Flying bed was painted in 1932 after Kahlo suffered her second miscarriage. Of all her paintings this is arguably the most painful to look at as the viewer can see the sorrow Frida felt. It was during this time Kahlo realized it would take a miracle for her to carry to term. These physical and emotional agonies were made much worse by the fact that they had to be faced in a city that she loathed away from the support of her family.
In this portrait Kahlo lays naked on a hospital bed, her stomach still swollen from the pregnancy. Blood covers part of the bed, which we attribute to the miscarriage and tears run down her face. Six objects surround the bed, connected to her lower abdomen by what appears to be umbilical cords. The foetus is Dieguito (Little Diego), her dead son, the snail represents the slow horror of the miscarriage, the machine on the lower left hand side symbolises the medical impersonality and the orchid is a gift that Diego presented to Kahlo after the lose, some also believe that it represents her womb. The last two objects are the pelvis and the medical manikin of a pregnant woman, both of which point towards her broken body. The background is not the hospital however, it is the Detroit Skyline with its smoke, factories and concrete buildings.
Kahlo has used balance by painting the largest object (the bed) in the centre and then surrounding it by her six symbolic objects. The contrast of the blue of the sky, the dark chocolate brown used for the earth and the white of the hospital mattress successfully make the bed and Frida's form the focal point. The chosen hues are all quite basic and would have been easy to create, however each is so completely different from the others that it looks like each item has been plucked at random and placed in the painting.
Key Words: sorrow, pregnancy, agony, pain, suffering, miscarriage, symbology, portrait
http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/frida_kahlo/fk200708_03.htm
http://www.fridakahlo.org/henry-ford-hospital.jsp
http://www.high.org/Popup/HotSpotPopup.aspx?hostId=%7BD8070519-408B-4546-82BC-228B9B738F80%7D&loi=cuijuan
Size: 30.5 x 38cm
Medium: Oil on Metal
Year: 1932
Henry Ford Hospital also known as The Flying bed was painted in 1932 after Kahlo suffered her second miscarriage. Of all her paintings this is arguably the most painful to look at as the viewer can see the sorrow Frida felt. It was during this time Kahlo realized it would take a miracle for her to carry to term. These physical and emotional agonies were made much worse by the fact that they had to be faced in a city that she loathed away from the support of her family.
In this portrait Kahlo lays naked on a hospital bed, her stomach still swollen from the pregnancy. Blood covers part of the bed, which we attribute to the miscarriage and tears run down her face. Six objects surround the bed, connected to her lower abdomen by what appears to be umbilical cords. The foetus is Dieguito (Little Diego), her dead son, the snail represents the slow horror of the miscarriage, the machine on the lower left hand side symbolises the medical impersonality and the orchid is a gift that Diego presented to Kahlo after the lose, some also believe that it represents her womb. The last two objects are the pelvis and the medical manikin of a pregnant woman, both of which point towards her broken body. The background is not the hospital however, it is the Detroit Skyline with its smoke, factories and concrete buildings.
Kahlo has used balance by painting the largest object (the bed) in the centre and then surrounding it by her six symbolic objects. The contrast of the blue of the sky, the dark chocolate brown used for the earth and the white of the hospital mattress successfully make the bed and Frida's form the focal point. The chosen hues are all quite basic and would have been easy to create, however each is so completely different from the others that it looks like each item has been plucked at random and placed in the painting.
Key Words: sorrow, pregnancy, agony, pain, suffering, miscarriage, symbology, portrait
http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/frida_kahlo/fk200708_03.htm
http://www.fridakahlo.org/henry-ford-hospital.jsp
http://www.high.org/Popup/HotSpotPopup.aspx?hostId=%7BD8070519-408B-4546-82BC-228B9B738F80%7D&loi=cuijuan