archive
Diego painting. The picture includes an imprint of Frida's lips.
Frida: Her Photos Carefully edited by Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, we hereby present a selection from Frida Kahlo's rich photographic archive that has recently been opened. Out of the vast range of works discovered, the selection presented here mainly hints at the many relationships that Frida established throughout her life. Besides the numerous portraits made by her father Guillermo, who worked as a photographer in Mexico after moving from Germany in 1891, we find pictures of her great love Diego Rivera, as well as Tina Modotti and Leon Trotsky. This selection also includes a portrait that her father took in 1929, soon after she discovered that Diego was involved with her sister Cristina. Diego loved Frida’s long hair, and cutting it short was her ultimate revenge.
Photography was a key influence on Frida Kahlo’s work too. Wether in front of or behind the camera, she developed a strong and well-defined personality. How frustrating for all those who searched for information on the artist over the years to realise that for every snipped that had been gleaned there was more, much more, sealed in a padlocked section of the Casa Azul! Shortly before his death, Diego Rivera asked his friend and executor Lola Olmedo not to open this archive before 15 years had passed. When that time came, Lola decided that she wouldn’t do it either. So, the treasure was secluded for 50 years. >>
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