Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) was a Mexican painter whose work combined personal experience, Mexican cultural traditions and symbolic imagery. She contracted polio as a child, leaving one leg weaker than the other. At the age of eighteen, she was seriously injured in a bus accident that caused multiple fractures and required numerous operations throughout her life.

During her long recovery, she began painting while lying in bed, using a mirror fixed above her so she could observe herself. This is one reason why self-portraits make up a large part of her work. Although she is sometimes linked to Surrealism, Kahlo explained that she did not paint dreams but her own reality, drawing on memories, physical pain and everyday experiences.

Many of Kahlo's paintings explore identity, the human body, illness, family, nature and Mexican heritage. She often included traditional clothing, native plants, animals and symbolic objects whose meaning depends on the context of each work rather than following a single interpretation. Her marriage to the muralist Diego Rivera influenced both her personal life and artistic career, even though each developed a distinct style.

During her lifetime, Kahlo was better known in Mexico than internationally, but her reputation grew steadily after her death. Today, her paintings are studied not only for their artistic qualities but also for the way they connect personal history, cultural identity and emotional expression, making her one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century art.