
Frida Kahlo, a famous Mexican painter, is best known for her self portraits. Both Amerindian and Mexican culture are a major factor in all of the works by Frida Kahlo. She incorporates tradition throughout her paintings that are presented as folk art or naïve art. Kahlo’s art has been critiqued as “surrealist,” but she disagrees. She likes to believe that her works of art depict more-so the reality of her life rather than her dreams. “Henry Ford Hospital” is one example of a painting that has deep meaning and reflects a major part in Frida Kahlo’s life.

The famous painting "Henry Ford Hospital" reflects a highly important and depressing point in her life. On July 4, 1932 in Detroit, Michigan, Khalo suffered from a devastating miscarriage. During her pregnancy, her doctors recommended she had long periods of complete bedrest to carry out her to her full term. Although she was under the supervision of her doctors as she went through the remainder of her pregnancy, her body failed to resist the treatment they decided to used. She was then rushed to Henry Ford Hospital, where the doctors had to perform an abortion which was an atrocious process that first started at home. As Frida Kahlo began to fall into an unexplainable, deep depression she came up with the idea to paint her beloved fetus. She asked her nurses and doctors to bring her the fetus, but her request was sadly denied. The only option she had that would help her achieve the work of art she was trying to complete was to observe illustrations of fetus' created by Diego. She also listened to the vivid descriptions the doctors were giving her about her very own fetus. She began to create this amazing work of art and named it after the hospital in which she was cared for; "Henry Ford Hospital."

In this painting, the calamitous experience of Frida Kahlo's abortion is deeply reflected. Beginning with the position of her own body, which is being shown in the center of the bed in a crouched form, the painting shows her little body as being very helpless. The blood that surrounds her defenseless body is one of the numerous ways that Kahlo incorporates the horrible experience that she went through during the abortion. In the painting, her stomach is still swollen from the prolonged fetus. A large tear in presented on Frida’s face, coming from her left eye. The tear is there to show the sadness and depression she encountered during the lengthy amount of time it took for the miscarriage and abortion. 

The six different elements are attached to her body by long, red strands that are intended to assume the role of the umbilical cords. The umbilical cords are attached to her hand, as if she is holding on to those very sad moments she went through during her miscarriage. Attached to each of the umbilical cords, there is one element that epitomizes the different drastic moments throughout her struggle. A snail is presented in "Henry Ford Hospital" as one of the key elements. According to Kahlo, the snail that is above the head of the bed on the right hand side, depicts the slowness of the whole process. The abortion was a very long and drawn out process and seemed to take an abundant amount of time. In the middle of the detailed painting, the wished-for son was interpreted as a male fetus. The fetus was painted based off of the details that the doctors gave of her deceased baby boy. On the left hand side of the fetus, an umbilical cord is attached to a pink orthopedic cast of the pelvic area. The spinal column of the particular structure seems to be shown as having individual sections of bone. The reasoning for this specific detail is to give the person viewing the painting the idea of all the pain she suffered while delivering the dead baby. It was Kahlo’s idea of explaining the insides of a woman. The depiction of the broken spine shows the many fractures that a woman's body goes through to deliver an offspring. The orchid, which is shown in the middle, underneath her body, was a gift given to her by her beloved husband, Diego Rivera. Frida paints a machine to the left of the orchid that she designs herself. The machine is imagined and painted simply to explain the mechanical part of the miscarriage. It is a single image to portray all of the machines and devices used to extort the unborn baby from her helpless, little body. Lastly, the lower right corner shows an image that is tied to the last of the six umbilical cords. This image is her fractured pelvis, which had occurred from a previous injury, that makes it impossible for Kahlo to have kids ever again. The buildings in the background of the picture represent the urban setting of where the hospital was located. It is served as a backdrop.

In this painting, "Henry Ford Hospital," Frida Kahlo combined the aspects of a fantasy and reality into one picture. The picture is very straightforward and easy to understand what is being interpreted. Frida Kahlo accurately used her own personal experience to display the unforgettable and psychological trauma she felt after having to go through such an absurd moment of her life. 

Furthermore, in the aspects of the materials used to create this painting, Frida used sheet metal as its support for the first time. Using sheet metal was a very traditional Mexican way of art.  After the devastating miscarriage, in an attempt to enlighten Frida's mood her husband, Diego Rivera, suggested that Frida to paint on tin panels. He saw it as being a new way for her to interpret and portray her ideas. He also suggested she paint the years of her lifetime if she couldn't find anything else to paint. 
