The twentieth century was a turbulent time for Mexico and for the art world as well. The Mexican Revolution was a time of political and social chaos. Meanwhile, the Surrealist movement was in full force across Europe, breaking away from social convention and formal art styles in favor of a more liberated path to expressing the unconscious mind and dreams. And few Surrealists are as beloved as the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

Born in 1907, Frida Kahlo started in humble, difficult origins before her career in paining began. After surviving a trolley accident in her teens, Kahlo was plagued with severe injuries that would trouble her for the rest of her life. She took up painting during her long recovery, creating self-portraits that illustrated her pain in fantastic imagery and visual metaphors. Later on, she married fellow painter and political activist Diego Rivera, although their marriage was troubled by numerous affairs on both Frida and Diego’s part. Even so, Kahlo’s art earned recognition in both the United States and the Louvre in Paris, though her work would only become more renowned after her death. It is recorded that her final words were, “I hope the exit is joyful—and I hope never to return.”

Nearly half of Frida Kahlo’s paintings are self-portraits. She chose not to idealize herself, but to emphasize her features, such as her distinctive eyebrows or moustache. Because of the spinal injuries and severe trauma that she endured on a daily basis, Kahlo illustrated her suffering through dramatic imagery such as a thorn necklace, nudity, and bleeding wounds. She also frequently painted herself in indigenous fashion, which complemented her primitive painting style.

Kahlo’s paintings all favor bright and bold colors in a simple form. Her works were full of detail, though not in the same way as classic European artwork was. She frequently made use of common Mexican symbols, such as monkeys and icons from Dia de los Muertos (the Mexican Day of the Dead). She also produced more flattering portraits of her contemporaries, such as Diego Rivera, her sister Christina, and American botanist Luther Burbank. But throughout all her works is a dynamic energy, twisting reality toward fantasy to express her inner self. Surrealist painter Andre Breton called her art “a ribbon around a bomb.”

Frida Kahlo’s art can be seen in venues across the United States and Mexico. The Louvre in France owns a self-portrait tilted The Frame. Many of her works and personal artifacts are on display in her former home—now a museum called La Casa Azul—in Coyoacán, Mexico City.

Image Credit: Yuan Tian on Flickr