About The Two Fridas This double self-portrait by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is considered her most famous painting. Two versions of Kahlo are seated next to one another. The one on the left is wearing a European-style Victorian dress while the other is wearing a traditional Tehuana dress.
A common interpretation of the work is that this is a representation of Frida’s dual heritage: her European heritage through her father who was German, and her traditional Mexican heritage passed through her mother.
Another interpretation is that the Tehuana Frida is the one Diego Rivera adored (she is holding a small portrait of her husband) while he rejected the European Frida. After all, this painting was made in the year Frida divorced Diego.
Frida Kahlo was an inspiration to a nation in a time that Mexican identity was beginning to come into its own. Frida was both a perpetual feminist icon and a monument to Latin American literature. The bulk of her work, while highly personal, also found within it a voice that spoke to an entire nation. She will always remain for her signature style and the unflinching truth conveyed by her images.
Pieces of Frida Kahlo, such as The Frame illustrate how personal and important her artwork was in shaping her life. By allowing herself an outlet for her vast interior life, she brought a simple, unadulterated beauty to the real world. Often thought of like a surrealist, she would deny the title, claiming that, unlike dreamlike and subconscious imagery the Surrealists dealt with, her imagery was taken from her own life.
Phenomenal talent and a highly individualistic and introspective person, Kahlo will always remain for her honesty and her deeply personal works. Kahlo inspired a nation and countless artists.
