Happy Birthday, Frida Kahlo (Biography and Art)

Frida Kahlo Would Be 103 Today

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Frida Kahlo Google Doodle

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uploaded by Jordan Yerman

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, whose image adorns hipster handbags as Che Guevara does t-shirts, would have turned 103 today. Google Mexico has Frida Kahlo's image as a Google Doodle. Aside from her art, she's also famous as the wife of painter and muralist Diego Rivera.

• Frida Kahlo Online (Flash-heavy site)

Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico to a Spanish-Mexican mother and German father. She contracted polio at age six. Though she recovered, Kahlo was left with one leg thinner than the other. She went on to become active in sports, including boxing, as future husband Rivera would find out.

Frida's Life-Changing Accident

At age 18, Frida Kahlo was involved in a horrific trolley-vs-bus crash, which left her with a broken spine, pelvis, ribs, leg, and collarbone, as well as a dislocated foot and shoulder, plus severe internal injuries. She would never fully recover from these injuries, and would have agonizing relapses for the rest of her life.

From Medicine to Art

Frida Kahlo turned her attention from studying medicine to practicing art as she recovered. Her self-portraits are what most are familiar with. Frida Kahlo's style is based in indigenous painting techniques, portraying a worldview colored by pain and passion.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were married in 1929, and their relationship was a stormy one. Both had numerous extramarital affairs that would put Jesse James to shame; Kahlo would have relationships with men and women, while Rivera upped the ante by sleeping with Kahlo's sister. They divorced after that one, but got back together shortly after.

Diego Rivera's work can be seen in the US at spots like Coit Tower in San Francisco and in the lobby of Rockefeller Center- oh, wait. No. The Rockefellers had the Communist-themed mural sand-blasted away before the building opened to the public.

Life After Death

Frida Kahlo's work didn't become well-known until after her death, though hers is the first Mexican painting to ever hang in the Louvre. Frida Kahlo rose to pop-culture status in the 1980s, and was the first Latina to get her own US postage stamp, which was released in 2001.