Frida Kahlo: Beneath the Mirror (Temporis) - Hardcover

Behind Frida Kahlo's portraits, lies the story of her life - a body of work drawn from cries of anger and fury, blended into a potent, and artistically exceptional, combination. At six years of age, she suffered a bout of polio and she was just eighteen when a terrible bus accident changed her life forever, leaving her handicapped and burdened with constant physical pain. But her explosive character, raw determination and hard work helped to shape her artistic talent. Frida Kahlo managed to forge a place for herself in the macho society of Mexico despite the double handicap of her crushed body and her sex. Although an obsessive womanizer, the great painter Diego Rivera was constantly by her side. She won him over with her charm, talent and intelligence, and Kahlo learnt to lean on the success of her companion in order to explore the world, thus creating her own legacy whilst finding herself surrounded by a closeknit group of friends, one of the most charistmatic of whom was the great Russian Revolutionary leader, Leon Trotsky. Her personal life was turbulent, as she frequently put her relationship with Diego to one side whilst she cultivated her own bisexual relationships. Despite this, Frida and Diego always managed to maintain their battered relationship. Frida Kahlo's work plays an important part in the artistic heritage of Mexico, her native country, with both its novelty and its multi-cultural values. The story and the paintings that Frida created reveal a rare and courageous account of a woman on a voyage of constant self discovery.