February 26, 2024 • 7 mins
Discover the extraordinary life and art of Frida Kahlo, the iconic Mexican painter, in this captivating exploration! Explore her unique blend of surrealism, symbolism, and indigenous Mexican culture, which continues to inspire artists and admirers worldwide. Learn about her resilience in the face of physical and emotional pain, and her enduring legacy as a feminist and cultural icon.
📖 Full Text @ BedtimeHistoryStories.com
📺 YouTube
👍 Facebook | Instagram
🇲🇽 Spanish | "Déjame contarte la Historia"
Share your thoughts here:
https://forms.gle/AV3cWqMPTujDTMSK7
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Close your eyes and imagine looking at yourself in the mirror.
What do you see? Do you notice any particular features
your eyes, hair, nose, mouth, ears right away? Does looking
at yourself make you feel anything in particular? What would
someone be able to tell you from looking at you?
Would they be correct? These are all questions about identity,
(00:23):
something that was of great interest to the famous Mexican
painter Frieda Callo. She was known for her many portraits,
self portraits, and other paintings inspired by nature and the
culture of Mexico. Much of her work today is seen
as explorations of identity, who we are when viewed by
ourselves and by others. Frieda Callo was born in nineteen
(00:46):
oh seven in Coyocon, Mexico, at her family home called
La Casa Azul, or the Blue House. She had three
sisters and her father was a photographer. When Frida was
six years old, she contracted polio, which weakened her legs severely,
even making her right legs shorter and thinner than the left.
(01:06):
While she was getting better, she had to be alone,
although Frieda was able to spend much of her time
with her father, who taught her many subjects, including nature,
good books and photography. He also encouraged her to play
sports as a way to regain her strength and movement
after her illness. While she was learning from her father,
Frieda was able to help him with his photography and
(01:28):
performing tasks like retouching, developing, and coloring his photos. Freeda
went to a special school called the National Preparatory School.
Its students focused on learning science with the goal of
eventually becoming doctors. At the time, the school had just
started accepting women. Frieda was a very smart student, read
(01:49):
many books and became very interested in Mexican culture. At school,
she was hurt very badly when a bus she was
on hit an electric street car. Among other injuries, her
pelvic bone was fractured, her spine was broken in three places,
and her right leg was broken in eleven places. Frida
would be stuck in bed for three months as she
underwent recovery to heal from the accident. Because of her injuries,
(02:12):
in the amount of time it took to recover from them,
Frieda would not be able to continue on with her
plans to become a doctor. During this time, she found
joyan art and took up her childhood hobby of painting again.
She tried to make the best of this time and
found joyan art and took up her childhood hobby of
painting again. Her mother made her a special easel that
(02:33):
she could use while lying in bed, and Freda placed
a mirror above the easel so she could see herself.
She said, I paint myself because I am often alone
and I'm the subject I know best. For her paintings,
Frieda preferred to paint things as she saw them with
her own eyes. She also painted portraits of her sisters
and her school friends. In nineteen twenty eight, Freeda met
(02:56):
another artist named Diego Rivera. She asked him to give
her his opinion of her work, and he was impressed.
He called Freda an authentic artist. They would later marry
and settle in Querda Nevaca, where Diego had been asked
to paint murals at the Palace of Cortes. Her parents
referred to Frido and Diego as the dove and the
(03:18):
elephant in regards to the great differences between their size.
While they were in Queta Neovaca, Frieda continued to paint
and drew even more inspiration for Mexican culture and other
Mexican artists. While murals, these are large paintings, often featuring
big groups of people or other subjects, were very popular
at the time, Frida chose to paint in the style
(03:39):
of small portraits, modeling her work after retablos religious paintings
on small metal sheets. She continued to focus on painting
her subjects herself included realistically, including items from Mexican culture
and nature to express herself and her ideas about herself
and others. After her husband's work was completed in Querda Neovaca,
(04:03):
Frida and Diego moved to San Francisco, where he was
asked to complete more murals or large paintings. Frida spent
time in Detroit and New York City as well, and
became more comfortable talking about herself and her work. It
was in San Francisco that Frida showed off one of
her paintings for the first time. In nineteen thirty four,
(04:23):
she returned to Mexico City, but she was not able
to paint because of her poor health. About three years later,
she painted more and her art continued to be shown
off in galleries. It was also during this time that
Frieda made her first major sale of Art and received
recognition from the French pater Andre Breton. He convinced Frida
to open her first solo exhibition in New York City.
(04:46):
An exhibition is when you show off your artwork. Frida's
Paris exhibition was not as successful as her New York one. However,
the Louver Museum purchased her work entitled The Frame, which
gave Freda the honor of being the first Mexico artist
to be featured in their collection. Frieda Callo has a
piece of art hanging in the same museum as the
Mona Lisa. Frida also spent her time furthering the education
(05:12):
of the Mexican people about their heritage and culture. She
became a founding member of the Seminario di Cultura Mexicana,
a group of twenty five artists asked to spread public
knowledge of Mexican culture. Her work with this group included
planning shows and attending conferences on art. In nineteen forty three,
(05:32):
Frida took a teaching position at a school in Mexico City. There,
she helped students gain a greater appreciation for Mexican popular
culture and folk art. She encouraged her students to take
inspiration from the people and the things around them, and
to portray them as they saw them in real life
or on the street. As her health got worse, Frieda
was unable to teach at the school, so she began
(05:54):
teaching classes from her home, La Casa Azul. Four of
her students devoted themselves to learning from and helping care
for Freda. They were referred to as Los Friros for
their dedication to their teacher. Frieda finally had the chance
for her own solo exhibition in Mexico in nineteen fifty three.
(06:14):
Towards the end of her life. Her health was so
poor that the doctors advised her against attending the gallery,
but she felt so strongly about her art that she
insisted on having her bed moved from her home to
the gallery. She was transported there by ambulance and spent
the evening of the exhibition in her bed in the gallery.
Freda passed away in her home the following year, at
(06:37):
the age of forty seven. Frieda Callo's popularity and the
world's appreciation for her work has only grown after her death.
Mexico has declared her paintings part of their national cultural
heritage and Several of her paintings have sold for millions
of dollars at art auctions. Her home is now a
museum that is visited by around twenty five thousand people
(06:59):
a month. There is also a park with a bronze
statue in it dedicated to her In Mexico. She was
also the first Mexican woman to be featured on a
US postage stamp. She has been the subject of movies, ballets, operas,
and she even appeared as herself in the Disney movie Coco.
People are interested in Free to Callo because of the
(07:20):
way she lived her life and how she approached her
works of art. Free to believe that people should be
seen as they are and let her portraits speak for themselves.
She painted art when she was in pain, when she
was happy, and when she was sad. Her art helped
her express herself and help people see her as she
truly was. That's one of the great things about art.
(07:41):
When you look at it, you can decide how it
makes you feel, and even let it help you express
your feelings. Thanks for listening to this episode about Free
to Callo, and be sure to check in next week.
Close your eyes and imagine looking at yourself in the mirror.
What do you see? Do you notice any particular features
your eyes, hair, nose, mouth, ears right away? Does looking
at yourself make you feel anything in particular? What would
someone be able to tell you from looking at you?
Would they be correct? These are all questions about identity,
(00:23):
something that was of great interest to the famous Mexican
painter Frieda Callo. She was known for her many portraits,
self portraits, and other paintings inspired by nature and the
culture of Mexico. Much of her work today is seen
as explorations of identity, who we are when viewed by
ourselves and by others. Frieda Callo was born in nineteen
(00:46):
oh seven in Coyocon, Mexico, at her family home called
La Casa Azul, or the Blue House. She had three
sisters and her father was a photographer. When Frida was
six years old, she contracted polio, which weakened her legs severely,
even making her right legs shorter and thinner than the left.
(01:06):
While she was getting better, she had to be alone,
although Frieda was able to spend much of her time
with her father, who taught her many subjects, including nature,
good books and photography. He also encouraged her to play
sports as a way to regain her strength and movement
after her illness. While she was learning from her father,
Frieda was able to help him with his photography and
(01:28):
performing tasks like retouching, developing, and coloring his photos. Freeda
went to a special school called the National Preparatory School.
Its students focused on learning science with the goal of
eventually becoming doctors. At the time, the school had just
started accepting women. Frieda was a very smart student, read
(01:49):
many books and became very interested in Mexican culture. At school,
she was hurt very badly when a bus she was
on hit an electric street car. Among other injuries, her
pelvic bone was fractured, her spine was broken in three places,
and her right leg was broken in eleven places. Frida
would be stuck in bed for three months as she
underwent recovery to heal from the accident. Because of her injuries,
(02:12):
in the amount of time it took to recover from them,
Frieda would not be able to continue on with her
plans to become a doctor. During this time, she found
joyan art and took up her childhood hobby of painting again.
She tried to make the best of this time and
found joyan art and took up her childhood hobby of
painting again. Her mother made her a special easel that
(02:33):
she could use while lying in bed, and Freda placed
a mirror above the easel so she could see herself.
She said, I paint myself because I am often alone
and I'm the subject I know best. For her paintings,
Frieda preferred to paint things as she saw them with
her own eyes. She also painted portraits of her sisters
and her school friends. In nineteen twenty eight, Freeda met
(02:56):
another artist named Diego Rivera. She asked him to give
her his opinion of her work, and he was impressed.
He called Freda an authentic artist. They would later marry
and settle in Querda Nevaca, where Diego had been asked
to paint murals at the Palace of Cortes. Her parents
referred to Frido and Diego as the dove and the
(03:18):
elephant in regards to the great differences between their size.
While they were in Queta Neovaca, Frieda continued to paint
and drew even more inspiration for Mexican culture and other
Mexican artists. While murals, these are large paintings, often featuring
big groups of people or other subjects, were very popular
at the time, Frida chose to paint in the style
(03:39):
of small portraits, modeling her work after retablos religious paintings
on small metal sheets. She continued to focus on painting
her subjects herself included realistically, including items from Mexican culture
and nature to express herself and her ideas about herself
and others. After her husband's work was completed in Querda Neovaca,
(04:03):
Frida and Diego moved to San Francisco, where he was
asked to complete more murals or large paintings. Frida spent
time in Detroit and New York City as well, and
became more comfortable talking about herself and her work. It
was in San Francisco that Frida showed off one of
her paintings for the first time. In nineteen thirty four,
(04:23):
she returned to Mexico City, but she was not able
to paint because of her poor health. About three years later,
she painted more and her art continued to be shown
off in galleries. It was also during this time that
Frieda made her first major sale of Art and received
recognition from the French pater Andre Breton. He convinced Frida
to open her first solo exhibition in New York City.
(04:46):
An exhibition is when you show off your artwork. Frida's
Paris exhibition was not as successful as her New York one. However,
the Louver Museum purchased her work entitled The Frame, which
gave Freda the honor of being the first Mexico artist
to be featured in their collection. Frieda Callo has a
piece of art hanging in the same museum as the
Mona Lisa. Frida also spent her time furthering the education
(05:12):
of the Mexican people about their heritage and culture. She
became a founding member of the Seminario di Cultura Mexicana,
a group of twenty five artists asked to spread public
knowledge of Mexican culture. Her work with this group included
planning shows and attending conferences on art. In nineteen forty three,
(05:32):
Frida took a teaching position at a school in Mexico City. There,
she helped students gain a greater appreciation for Mexican popular
culture and folk art. She encouraged her students to take
inspiration from the people and the things around them, and
to portray them as they saw them in real life
or on the street. As her health got worse, Frieda
was unable to teach at the school, so she began
(05:54):
teaching classes from her home, La Casa Azul. Four of
her students devoted themselves to learning from and helping care
for Freda. They were referred to as Los Friros for
their dedication to their teacher. Frieda finally had the chance
for her own solo exhibition in Mexico in nineteen fifty three.
(06:14):
Towards the end of her life. Her health was so
poor that the doctors advised her against attending the gallery,
but she felt so strongly about her art that she
insisted on having her bed moved from her home to
the gallery. She was transported there by ambulance and spent
the evening of the exhibition in her bed in the gallery.
Freda passed away in her home the following year, at
(06:37):
the age of forty seven. Frieda Callo's popularity and the
world's appreciation for her work has only grown after her death.
Mexico has declared her paintings part of their national cultural
heritage and Several of her paintings have sold for millions
of dollars at art auctions. Her home is now a
museum that is visited by around twenty five thousand people
(06:59):
a month. There is also a park with a bronze
statue in it dedicated to her In Mexico. She was
also the first Mexican woman to be featured on a
US postage stamp. She has been the subject of movies, ballets, operas,
and she even appeared as herself in the Disney movie Coco.
People are interested in Free to Callo because of the
(07:20):
way she lived her life and how she approached her
works of art. Free to believe that people should be
seen as they are and let her portraits speak for themselves.
She painted art when she was in pain, when she
was happy, and when she was sad. Her art helped
her express herself and help people see her as she
truly was. That's one of the great things about art.
(07:41):
When you look at it, you can decide how it
makes you feel, and even let it help you express
your feelings. Thanks for listening to this episode about Free
to Callo, and be sure to check in next week.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.