ArtCorner

Frida Kahlo was born in 1907 in a small town on the outskirts of Mexico City. Kahlo was one of four daughters born to a Hungarian-Jewish father and a mother of Spanish and Mexican Indian descent.

Her works were largely inspired by indigenous cultures of her up bringing and her magical Mexico — the realist elements of Christian and Jewish traditions combined with surrealist renderings.

Although Frida Kahlo brushed her canvas with compact, vibrant hues you cannot help but sense a certain obscurity and vulnerability, most notably in her many self-portraits that symbolically articulate her own pain and sexuality. The sensitive stare beneath her bushy eyebrows serves as an intimate portrayal of the grim realities of her life.

Personal struggle aside, Kahlo was controversial for her self-cultivated public persona. The woman expressed her glamour, her Mexican heritage, her communist leaning in all candidness. In addition to her political views Kahlo played it coy and kept people guessing about her own sexuality.

Whereas in her paintings Kahlo is expressing her pain, she was, when in public, depicted a person who was enjoying life and living life to the fullest… “with great energy and surprising dynamism,” as observers would later note.

Such is the enigma of Frida Kahlo.

Kahlo contracted polio at six, which left her right leg thinner. She concealed her condition by wearing long, colorful skirts. She and her sisters grew up amid the violent Mexican Revolution where gunfire echoed in the streets, the hungry revolutionaries knocking on their door.

As a young woman, Fridah aspired to become a Doctor. Unfortunately her hopes and dreams were severed on one summer afternoon as she was involved in a bus-trolley collision which left her in a wreck. Despite more than 30 subsequent operations, Kahlo spent the rest of her life in constant pain, finally succumbing to related complications at age 47.

Limping and getting by with extreme pain, during her difficult recovery Kahlo regained her spirits by painting. In the first three months when she was immobile, the urge to paint herself came rushing. “I am the subject I know best”, Kahlo once said. Her self-portraits were born while in that state of torture; the pain real and stirring at her very core.

Did she paint pain? Look closer now. As far as she is concerned: “They thought I was a Surrealist but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.”

The mark of her “own reality” is manifested in 55 self-portraits. She painted with passion drawing from her personal experiences – including her often tumultuous marriages, her miscarriages and abortions, her extramarital affairs with both sexes – to create an anthology of 143 paintings.

At the age of 21, Kahlo fell in love with the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, whose approach to art and politics suited her own. Although he was 20 years older, they were married in 1929; this stormy, passionate relationship survived infidelities, the pressures of Rivera’s career, a divorce and remarriage, and Kahlo’s poor health.

Amputated, frail from complications and sensing the nearness of death upon her, Kahlo wrote in her diary: “I hope the exit is joyful – and I hope never to return – Frida.”

In life, Kahlo’s portrayal of pain in her paintings is stark, and near the end of her turbulent days angst is palpable. Yet, in her public life, the woman always maintained an image of self-confidence, strength and even defiance and candor.

It was not until decades after her death in 1954 that Kahlo’s work was widely recognized. The Louvre acquired “The Frame,” the first work by a 20th century Mexican artist ever purchased by the famous art house.

In 2006, Kahlo’s 1943 painting Roots set an auction record for a Latin American work, at $5.6 million.

The Reina Sofia Museum, as I covered last time, is the home of Spain’s Modern Art masterpieces. The experience at the Reina Sofia is a majestic walk through the great works of the Spanish Modernist — from Salvador Dali to Juan Miro. As you marvel at the illuminating creations you cannot avoid the glaring evidence of the massive effect of the Spanish masters on the modern art movement.

With that said, there is one Spanish artist who has set the tone for 20th century evolution of Modern Art, you guessed it… that artist is Pablo Picasso.

Even though Pablo Picasso is a Spanish native, his works were banned from the country throughout the rain of Generalisimo Franco. The artists’ public rejection of Franco made him unwelcomed by the tyrant in his own native country.

This prelude makes the story of the Guernica oil painting at the Sofia, Madrid an extra special one.

The Guernica is probably Picassos’ most famous creation. Not an easy task as his works of art have been grasping the highest average dollar value for the past 20 years.

Guernica is a depiction of the bombing of Guernica, Spain, by German and Italian warplanes at the height of the Spanish Civil War on April 26, 1937. My mother used to call it the grand rehearsal to the Second World War.

The Spanish Republican government commissioned Pablo Picasso to create a large mural for the Spanish display at the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris. Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians.

As you walk through the Reyna Sofia, just as you are about to enter the Guernica hall, you get the feeling that you are about to encounter greatness… similar to the feeling you get as you enter the Sistine chapel, there are only a handful of artistic creations that inspire the same emotions. The Guernica at the Rheina Sofia is one such display.
When you set yourself in front of the display it takes many minutes to stare at it. You can probably spend an hour just staring at it and probably an entire semester analyzing this masterpiece in an art or history class.

The Sofia holds a room adjacent to the Guernica that holds famous paintings and sculptures relating to the Spanish Civil War including preliminary sketches of various parts of the Guernica.

This huge oil painting which was originally inspired by a newspaper clip, has gained a monumental status, becoming a perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol, and an embodiment of peace. The symbolism is abundant in every stroke and it is an important engagement I recommend to any Madrid visitor.

In conclusion, the Guernica will forever remain Picasso’s greatest work. As the years go by the importance of the message it delivers to the world just gets more and more important and relevant.