Frida Kahlo: The Little Deer

1758 Words8 Pages
INTRODUCTION A majority of both contemporary and period artists are influenced by their own existence, often including overwhelming or torturous experiences, secrets or opinions displayed within their works. These artists make use of visual language such as symbols and metaphors to portray significant concepts or hidden aspects of their identity. Art is after all a way of expressing one’s own thoughts and emotions, not at first directed for audience entertainment. An example of an artist who made predominant use of symbols in her self-portraits is Frida Kahlo. This report will aim to identify, describe, analyse, interpret and evaluate the symbolism and messages communicated in one of her more surrealistic self-depictions ‘’The Little Deer’’, (1946). In addition this report will outline my personal intentions for my own self portrait. BACKGROUND Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter who was raised in Coyoacan, an old Mexican city. She was born in 1907 however she generally tried to disguise this date and informed others that she was born amidst the Mexican revolution in 1910. During her life she had a volatile marriage with another infamous artist Diego Rivera, which consisted of numerous betrayals and affairs on both Rivera’s and Kahlo’s behalf. Kahlo was known for revealing her inner and outer being in symbolic and sometimes surreal self-portraits. She was a talented artist who flaunted the self- imperfections that many women conceal, with her trademark monobrow and moustached upper lip appearing defiantly in each open and sincere self-depiction. A large portion of Kahlo’s creative influences came from her inner conflict, physical injuries and sometimes her periods of depression. At the age of 6, Kahlo was diagnosed with polio, which caused her right leg to be quite thinner than her left. In addition to this, she suffered numerous injuries to her right side during

More about Frida Kahlo: The Little Deer

Open Document