Kahlo

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The arresting pictures of Frida Kahlo (1907-54) were in many ways expressions of trauma. Through a near-fatal road accident at the age of 18, failing health, a turbulent marriage, miscarriage and childlessness, she transformed the afflictions into revolutionary art. In literal or metaphorical self-portraiture, Kahlo looks out at the viewer with an audacious glare, rejecting her destiny as a passive victim and rather intertwining expressions of her experience into a hybrid real-surreal language of living: hair, roots, veins, vines, tendrils and fallopian tubes. Many of her works also explore the Communist political ideals which Kahlo shared with her husband Diego Rivera. The artist described her paintings as "the most sincere and real thing that I could do in order to express what I felt inside and outside of myself." This book introduces the rich body of Kahlo's work to explore her unremitting determination as an artist, and her significance as a painter, feminist icon, and a pioneer of Latin American culture. About the series Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features: a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions Les toiles captivantes de Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) taient bien des gards l'expression d'un traumatisme. Trs grave accident de la route 18 ans, sant fragile, mariage houleux, fausse couche et absence d'enfant, elle transforma toutes ses souffrances en art rvolutionnaire. Dans ses autoportraits fidles ou mtaphoriques, Kahlo pose sur le spectateur un regard brlant d'audace, elle rejette son destin de victime passive et prfre entrelacer les expressions de son exprience pour faonner un lexique vital hybride o se mlent rel et surrel: cheveux, racines, veines, tendons et trompes utrines. Nombre de ses uvres explorent aussi les idaux politiques communistes qu'elle partage avec Rivera. Elle dcrivit ses toiles comme la chose la plus sincre et la plus relle que je pouvais faire pour exprimer ce que je ressentais l'intrieur et l'extrieur de moi-mme. Ce livre prsente l'uvre foisonnante de Frida Kahlo et explore sa dtermination sans faille en tant qu'artiste, son importance en tant que peintre, icne fministe et pionnire de la culture latino-amricaine. propos de la collection Chaque volume de la Basic Art Series de TASCHEN contient: une chronologique dtaille de la vie et de l'uvre de l'artiste qui rend compte de son importance culturelle et artistique une biographie concise une centaine d'illustrations couleur accompagnes de lgendes explicatives

Author Bio

Andrea Kettenmann studied art history in Gttingen and Hamburg before joining the art history department of the University of Hamburg. She has published widely on Frida Kahlo and has contributed to numerous exhibitions and catalogues. She works as a freelance art historian in Mexico City, where she has lived for many years.