Current Affairs

Issue

An oil painting titled ‘Diego and I’ by artist Frida Kahlo has been sold for a record amount of $34.9 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.

 

Background

The painting is the self-portrait of the artist, representing her troubled marriage with husband Diego Rivera. It was painted few years before her demise in 1954.

 

 

Details

• Kahlo is considered one of the greatest artists of Mexico. She was famous for her bold and vibrant art.

• She drew her influence from Mexican culture, folk art, and her own predicaments. Apart from artist, she was also a feminist and political activist.

 

Early years

• Frida was the third of the four daughters born to a German-Hungarian Jewish father and Mexican mother of Spanish descent.

• She was diagnosed with polio at the age of six, leaving her bed-ridden for months and deforming her right leg severely.

• During her college days, Frida became a member of the ‘Los Cachuchas’, a socialist group. She also joined the Young Communist League, followed by the Mexican Communist Party.

 

Artistic life

Kahlo started to draw self-portraits looking at mirrors during her hospitalization. She started to gain several commissions after her paintings became popular.

 

Artistic characteristics

• Kahlo’s paintings were deeply influenced by Mexican culture. Her paintings were bright and made extensive use of symbolism.

• Pain and suffering were a constant theme in her depictions. The paintings gave an insight into her tragic life and feelings of love and loss.

 

Famous paintings

• Kahlo’s ‘The Frame’ was acquired by Louvre Museum in 1939. It was the first work by a 20th-century Mexican artist to be purchased by a major international museum. 

• The 1939 painting titled ‘Two Nudes in the Forest’ was sold for $8 million at a Christie’s auction in 2016.

• Other famous paintings by Frida include ‘Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird’, ‘The Two Fridas’, ‘Self Portrait with Cropped Hair’, ‘The Wounded Deer’ etc.