On first impression, The Two Fridas(1939) by Frida Kahlo, is an image that appears grim and sad, with a gloomy atmosphere, set by the background, and a gruesome imagery seen through the open, bloody hearts. The double self-portrait is an oil and canvas image of a European and Mexican Frida. The European Frida’s dress is covered in blood from a cut heart vein, and both the women’s hearts are exposed, with European Frida’s appearing broken. The two figures are sat in the foreground of the image, with a woven bench beneath them and a stormy, grey sky as the background. The image doesn 't have a very distinct appearance of being three dimensional, through its lack of depth. Though the figures still appear closer to the audience then then other …show more content…
There is a repetition of shape throughout the white lace located on the European Frida’s dress, and more natural flower shaped images repeated along the hem of her dress. The cloud shaped objects in the sky create an atmosphere of stormy times and gloomy days.
There is a strong contrast in colour between the two Frida’s. The one on the right has bright colours blue and yellow, complimentary colours, adorning her traditional clothing, where else the European Frida appears dressed in a more monochromatic outfit with sprinkles of contrasting colour, through the red of her blood and other earth tones of the flowers. Her representation of colours used, have a variety of meanings, ranging from the blue meaning distance from her husband, but a continued tenderness towards him, and the yellow showing signs of her madness sickness and fear. Most of which hold a negative connotation which is emphasised throughout the piece. Though the piece holds a sombre atmosphere to the piece, the artwork does not appear to have a very cold palette. There are a few warm colours that contrast with the icy grey tones of the clouds. But otherwise the piece has a warmer tint, emphasised especially through the warm tone of Kahlo’s skin.
Tone is seen throughout the piece, especially in the face, through the created depth, in darkening several areas for the purpose to make some aspects appear to be closer to the view than other. Like the nose for instance. Due to the shadow added to the right of the
We can observe the selection of blue color symbolizing melancholy in these scenes. Also, during the film, another color scene, this time yellow, can be seen, reflecting madness, insecurity, and obsessive by these scenes in the jury and streets. The catastrophic events, scenography and audio incremented the tension of every scene and complemented the facial expressions in the characters, creating a circle of the dramatic tension in the movie.
Frida’s double personality is most present (excepting arguably The Two Fridas, which will be mentioned later in this essay) in her painting Tree of Hope, Stand
There are three main aspects of this painting, each representing a different aspect of society. The first and lower part of the painting shows the working class, gathered in desperate and impoverished lines. This shows the lack of compassion available in the American economy.
Some may confine to societies expectations, rebel, or even enforce them; however, Alice Walker “dances” over the categories that society has believed she should be placed in to find something more meaningful and significant about herself. Alice Walker, known for her numerous awards and 1983 Pulitzer Prize winning work, The Color Purple, is an American novelist, poet, and activist. Her essay, Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self, is an autobiographical account of an incident that caused her to go blind in one eye when she was eight years old. Walker’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions, which were cultivated by the standards and pressures of society, are described in her story. While some may overlook its purpose, the metaphor of dance is significant because it represents her individual liberation of societal standards and categorization, which in turn influences readers to consider their oppressors and realize their self-worth.
Frida's artwork has always interested me in many ways. Her paintings are so much more than self-portraits and surrealism. She illustrates her life and the struggles she goes through, even if most would like to ignore the darker aspects of life. The theme of suffering permeates Frida’s self-portraits and often explicitly comprises their subject matter. She visually depicts physical and psychological struggles through the distortions of her body, which is fragmented, doubled, turned inside-out, and merged with non-human elements. She shows me that I can be strong through life even when I'm hurting physically and emotionally. Frida challenged herself and her
The effect that forms are that of biometric feel beside the people they have more of geometric feel. The colors do impact this artwork greatly because each color is harsh and sot of clash with one another. The colors are black, gold, red, brown, white and light blue. The colors are mixed. The color on the mother's dress is a harsh black versus that of her children which are every light and airy. The hue of the piece of art is very light in some spaces but in other places it can be very dark. The saturation is very different in many places if you look at the woman's dress and in the dog, you can see that it is very saturated but if you look at the two girl's dresses you can tell that its less saturated. When
The environment is less symmetrical with two different creatures behind her shoulders and the more random placement of leaves and the contrast of the yellow leaf behind her head. The background that seems like an unnatural melding of color.In his Image,Morimura attempt to more feminine air, utilizing the fiery red lipstick, blue-pink eye shadow, and blush to produce that effect. Her neck appears uncomfortably long. The repeated arched shape unifies the work by connecting the figure to the environment. The placement of the bird unusual and draws attention to Kahlo’s facial
In the painting of “The Two Fridas” you automatically notice two women sitting down in a bench, holding hands with hearts connected with each other. The background looks as if she was outside since it looks like clouds and the floor is light brown. The first Kahlo has her hair up, has light makeup on, (she is whiter than than second woman, her mustache is shaved, and she put some lipstick.), the dress is white and has two different designs on top (her chest is more vintage while the arms are layer of laces). The middle portion of her dress has blood stains dripping downwards. Then at the very bottom there seems to be flowers like roses and little birds, and the heart she has seems to be damaged with white and black inside. The second Kahlo also has her hair up, now she doesn’t seem to have any type of makeup (she is a bit tanner than the first woman and she actually has mustache) she has a more natural look, the dress she is wearing has color to it, the top of the dress is blue with some yellow around the neck, arms, and in the lower stomach area then on the bottom of the dress it is brown but the very bottom is simple with no flowers, it is white with frills, and the heart she has looks more of a realistic. For the first Kahlo the blood vessels are going around her arm, up her shoulder, and around her neck going towards the second Frida heart. Once the blood vessels reaches
Adversity can be seen in many different ways. Some people look at adversity as a learning experience, while others view adversity as a situation marked with misfortune. When a person is faced with adversity, rather than viewing it as something to hate, they should see it as a opportunity to grow. In the stories by Doris Lessing, W.D Wetherell and Alice Walker, they all show different types of challenges each character had to over come and their journey to do so. These stories all shared similar outcomes, they demonstrate how each character used an obstacle they were faced with, and turned it into a beneficial experience and how it shaped them into the person they are today.
Concerning color, there is a stark contrast between the figure on the painting and the background. More specifically, the figure of the woman is predominantly delineated in white color, especially pale, ashen white, as far her apparel and facial complexion are concerned, while there are also various hues of grey, with respect to her hair and accessory feather. These white and grey shades are vividly contrasted with the prevailing red and crimson hues of the background (viz. the drape, armchair, and table). Moreover, one can detect colors of dark green (jewelry), some beige on the left (pillar), and darker or lighter shades of blue on the right side of the canvas (sky), which all in concert and in addition to the subtle purple hue forming the sun or moon exude a certain dramatic sentiment. Also, there is brown, which often easily segues into gold (viz. books and attire details respectively). The main contrast of colors between white and red would be interpreted as serving the purpose of rendering the figure of the woman, and especially her face, the focal point of the work, despite, paradoxically enough, the lush red shades at the background. Bearing that in mind, the significance of the woman’s face will be enlarged upon later, when discussing aspects of her identity.
Frida Kahlo is a world-renowned Mexican painter known for her shocking self-portaits filled with painful imagery. Her artwork was seen by many as surrealist and socialist, but she refused the labels put on herself. Until today, her works have been able to exude the same playful and wild feel as before (Fisher n.p). Her legacy as a painter has attracted prominent people like Madonna who has confessed her admiration for the painter. Not only that but fashion designers are frequently inspired by her iconic Tijuana dresses while her paintings have been priced at more than three million dollars (Bauer 115).
Since Frida spent most of her time in hospital beds, she used that time to create paintings that documented the major events in her life. In 1937, Kahlo created My Nurse and I, in this painting, a nurse with a mask covering her face has in arms a baby with an adult face of Frida. The backstory of this painting is that Frida’s mother due to complications couldn’t breastfeed her. Her family hired a nurse to breastfeed her. This eventually affected their relationship because she never felt a bond with her mother. There are no connections between her and the wet nurse, you can tell the distance between them, there is no love in this painting. It implies Frida’s feelings of loss and separation form her own mother. In 1940, Frida painted Self Portrait with Thorn
The feel of the picture lends to emotions of unease and recognition of sexual innuendo. The colors of the painting are vibrant, but for the most part are dark. The heavy tones and shades of the colors are well balanced throughout the piece. It can be noted that the brightest shades of color are found on areas depicting the actual woman. In areas that are understood as landscape, the colors are more dreary and create a sense of instability. Even Hess observes that the
Frida Kahlo’s “The Two Fridas” is a manifestation of heartbreak, inner human pain, rejection of colonialism, and emotional journey. An oil on canvas made in 1939 in the midst of Frida Kahlo’s divorce from Diego Rivera, this painting embodied Frida Kahlo’s progression at this time in her life, dealing with what she is and what she wishes to be; as well as setting out how she wishes to do it. An ode to melancholy and overcoming adversity, “The Two Fridas” is a universal, eternal reminder of human capability.
Self-portraits have been used by artists for centuries to explore aspects of the self. They are the subjects they know best and artists have reflected this through their treatment of media, subject matter and techniques. Two artists who explore aspects of their personality and life experiences in their self-portraits are Frida Kahlo and Ben Quilty. Many of their artistic techniques can be derived from the same origins. Whilst there are similarities in self-portraits by any artist usually, you will find differences the norm. After all, this is what makes art and art form.