Frida Kahlo: A Painting Legend Many famous artists are known for their isolated lifestyles. However, Frida Kahlo lived and painted by a different set of standards. Frida Khalo was one of the most important 20th Century painters through her use of personal experience and communicating what she was feeling at that very moment. Kahlo was born July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico to multi-ethnic parents. Her mother was a Mexican Catholic, while her father was a German Jew.
She allegedly desired her work to be associated with the birth of modern Mexico, so even though her birth certificate states she was born July 6, 1907, Kahlo claims to have been born July 7, 1910 (birth of Mexican Revolution). Her portraits are often described as folk art due to the heavy influences of Mexican culture and Amerindian cultural tradition, yet some categorize Kahlo’s paintings as surrealist, The reason her work has been coined as being traditional of the figures and as surrealist work is mainly due to the fact that the subjects of her pieces took the traditional form of the female body and face, but they were distorted. She “never painted dreams. I painted my reality.” She transpired her reality onto the canvas through biographical reflections of her own life, and these reflections most often resulted in unique self-portraits. One self-portrait that really resonated with me is “The Broken Column” (1944).
During this time, Neel created a series of radical portraits depicting other artists, curators and gallery owners, such as Frank O'Hara, Andy Warhol and Robert Smithson. Despite this, she continued to be influenced by her own political opinions, often including black activists and supporters of the women's movement in her works. Although Neel’s work is not necessarily the most beautiful I have seen. However, this strange quality to her work is an aspect of her style that I found very fascinating, as she painted very honest portraits, without trying to make it look as aesthetically pleasing as possible. Despite working for much of her life without recognition, she persisted at a time that portraits were not in fashion in the art world, showing through her works her interest
However, the only difference between these two chapters is how she organized the material. She drives the reader from the beginning to the end through one coherent story. Finlay did not divided the chapter “The Paintbox” in multiple stories as she did in her chapter “White”, but she kept the material in one compact story. Another similarity between these two chapters is the topic Victoria Finlay discusses. She emphasizes in both texts how important is for the artists the using of the right color on their palette.
At first glance of any of Kahlo’s artwork, her portraits are very real but yet dreamlike. In a sense, the way she creates her pieces of work always display what is revolving around her life whether it is her husband, her fruit, or surprisingly dealing with her many medical illnesses. It is easy to decipher her artworks from other artists of the same time because of her stern black eyes, her traditional Mexican headdress and her ever -famous one eyebrow. Even as she creates her mirror image she evokes her inner
They admired her also because she dealt with the problems of being a woman painter in a macho society. Finally people were encouraged by the fact that Frida was still painting and creating beautiful portraits, despite her falling health and infamous husband who notably betrayed her by having affair with her sister. I am reading the book “Frida Kahlo’s Legacy”, and overall my reaction to that book poetics of self has been positive. My experience as a reader is enjoyable and I’d recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of the Latin-American world, especially to those who wonder what was the role of women in Mexican society. Frida Kahlo in my opinion was an amazing woman.
In the book, Girl with a Pearl Earring written by Tracy Chevalier, art plays a big role, because throughout the book both of the main characters help each other through their artistic abilities. Throughout the book, Griet’s master, Johannes Vermeer, learns a lot of new information from his maid, which helps him improve his paintings for the better. One day, Johannes Vermeer was painting a picture of his patron’s wife, and as Griet was doing her duties in the studio, she found one change that she would like to do in the painting. She waited for her master, to make the change in the picture, but he didn’t, so Griet “decided she would have to make change herself” (Chevalier 133). Griet thought that if she made the change it would make the picture more interesting and better.
Many of her works tend to hold feminine and masculine elements in a unique, serious, and charming way. Gracie Falk started her thriving career as a painter, but also divulged into the world of ceramic sculptures and installation work. At the age of thirty-four, she had a sudden realization: “I thought, I don’t want to hear another person’s opinion. I know what to do…I don’t need to be helped along” (“Underrated Canadian artist: Gathie Falk”). She then left her teaching job, which was unusual for a woman during that time, and started travelling throughout Europe.
In this essay, I will write about Kat Von D, by discussing her work, and most importantly, try to explain why body modifications – more specifically, Tattoos - should be considered Art, and why so many people chose to have it. Katherine Von Drachenberg, also known as Kat Von D, is a world-renowned tattoo artist, specialized in black and white portraits. She owns a tattoo shop; has her own television show; created and launched her make-up line for “Sephora”; published two books; and in 2010 she opened the “Wonderland Gallery”. Kat has always been interested in art from a very young age. It started through her paternal grandmother, who shaped her artistic edges by teaching to play the piano and exposing her to some of the greatest composers in the world.
Some artists who use symbolism in their artworks include: Frida Khalo, Peter Booth and Hieronymus Bosch. Frida Khalo (‘Khalo’) was an artist who frequently used signs and symbols in her artworks. She was a Mexican artist whom today is known as one of the greatest visual artists in history. Kahlo’s artworks depict the indigenous culture of her country in a style of combining realism, symbolism and surrealism. “I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best”.