The Intimate Frida Kahlo
Uncovering the Secrets of the Artist’s Image
Every few years, it seems, we get a fresh perspective on the instantly recognizable Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. Not just an insightful painter specializing in fantastical self-portraits, Kahlo was herself a piece of art. Rarely, if ever, seen without an elaborate headpiece, meticulous makeup (where can we find that shade of Revlon red she always wore?), and covering her crooked body in a Tehuana dress—the colorful, full-skirted gowns indigenous of Tehuantepec—she was a fashionista in her own time.
Her bold style has been the subject of previous books—check out Frida Kahlo: Fashion as the Art of Being (Legends) by Susana Martinez Vidal—and can be seen in The Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City. La Casa Azul, as it’s called, is where Frida was born, raised, lived with her husband, artist Diego Rivera, and where she died in 1954.
In honor of her memory, Rivera locked away many of her belongings and artwork in the bathroom of their home and ordered that the room not be opened until 15 years after her death. It was actually 50 years later, in 2004, before that door was opened, revealing a treasure trove of clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, personal artifacts and memorabilia, and her artwork. This private collection of one of the greatest artists ever born has turned The Frida Kahlo Museum into the most popular museum in all of Mexico.
The contents of that room in her home are the source of the current blockbuster exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and will be on display through November. Photographs of her belongings are also the subject of the book, Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up, by Claire Wilcox, Senior Curator of Fashion at the V&A and exhibition co-curator and Circe Henestrosa, a Singapore-based curator and the visionary behind the show and book. Together they have created a show so intimate and expansive, you feel you’re learning the secrets of Frida Kahlo on a global level.
What could possibly be more fascinating than seeing the actual lipstick that graced Frida’s mouth, or the powder that touched her cheeks? Beautiful black and white photos of Frida as a seductive young woman gazing unflinchingly at the camera? Her fashionable prosthetic leg donning a calf-height red leather boot with painted details? The body cast she wore for three months after a horrific accident that left her body broken–but of course she decorated and made into art? These are just the kinds of archeological finds that open the window to the soul of an artist.
If you can’t get to London to see the show in person—it will be up until November—the book is available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.
