“It was as if I were being born anew, born into a new world.” DIEGO RIVIERA
at the Crossroads” in the RCA Building at Rockefeller Center, Diego included a portrait of Russian Communist leader, Vladimir Lenin. Although the Rockefellers protested, Rivera refused to remove the portrait. His work was immediately stopped, and the mural was eventually destroyed.
Diego’s professional endeavors – and desire to promote the Mexican Renaissance – took the couple to Europe and to the United States. Diego often painted rich, vibrant murals overflowing with symbolism. Much to the dismay of his benefactors, these works contained elements of Diego’s political ideals. When Nelson Rockefeller commissioned him to create “Man
Despite their tumultuous “art imitates life” relationship, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s shared passion for each other and for their beloved Mexico sustained them until their deaths – Frida’s in 1954 and Diego’s in 1957. Not only are they revered by generations of proud countrymen, but they have become two of the most prolific international icons of the twentieth century.
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Stormy and passionate, Frida and Diego’s on-again, off-again romance was nothing short of a modern-day drama. Frida once said, “I suffered two grave accidents in my life. One in which a streetcar knocked me down ... The other accident is Diego.”
Eventually, Frida and Diego returned to Mexico. Commissioned work, social gatherings, political functions, and art exhibitions filled their days. But whatever the challenge, the two respected one another’s talents. Frida championed Diego’s vivid murals of Mexican farmers and laborers as well as political notables. In turn, Diego encouraged Frida’s blend of Mexican culture, Mesoamerican mythology, folk art, and surrealism. Frida drew, sketched, and painted over two hundred pieces in her lifetime; fifty-five of these were self-portraits. She painted her reality, often borrowing the essential elements of 19th century “Ex-Voto” style – a tragic scene, an inscription, and a saint or martyr. In 1953 Frida attended her only solo exhibition. A local critic wrote, “It is impossible to separate the life and work of this extraordinary person. Her paintings are her biography.”
In 1925 tragedy struck eighteen-year-old Frida. A streetcar accident left her spine, collarbone, and ribs fractured, and she sustained additional injuries to her shoulder, pelvis, and feet. Bedridden and in excruciating pain, Frida found relief in painting. After a long recovery, she jumped into politics by joining the Young Communist League and the Mexican Communist Party. Through these circles, Frida and Diego crossed paths once again in 1928. Impressed by her work and jovial spirit, Diego began courting Frida. The two were married the following year.
MEXI-GO.CA
womanizer and his being nearly twenty years her senior, Frida was mesmerized by “El Maestro”. She would watch him paint for hours, believing one day she would bare him a child. However, their time had not yet come.
Homesick and depressed over multiple miscarriages and Diego’s infidelity, Frida threw herself into her artwork and what was considered unconventional behavior at the time. She drank, smoked, hosted wild parties, and engaged in torrid affairs with both men and women. She draped herself in the colorful skirts, shawls, and exotic jewelry of traditional Mexican cultures. Attractive and talented, Frida’s persona was magnetic.
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