Frida Kahlo is a famous Mexican artist most known for her multiple self-portraits that  captured whatever she was going through at a particular point in her life. Throughout her career, Kahlo was always remembered as just the wife of Diego Rivera. Never the artist Frida Kahlo. It was only after her death, during the 1980’s Neomexicanismo artistic movement, that she earned the recognition and praise her art deserved. This movement was led by a younger generation in the 1980’s interested in their traditional Mexican values and roots. Because Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera made such an impact on Mexican art, this generation recognized and praised them, finally elevating them to the status they belonged in. One of her most famous pieces is “Las Dos Fridas” or “The Two Fridas”. The elements in the background and subject, as well as other minor details tell the story behind the painting of her inability to separate the different parts of herself to make Diego happy.

In the background of “Las Dos Fridas”, the storm clouds make it immediately evident that Frida, who is the subject, is going through a hard time in her life at this moment. There are two separate elements to the storm clouds. The first is that there are clouds and the second is the dark sky behind them. The clouds are the confusion she is going through at this point in her life. Kind of like a fog where she can only see so far into it and where it will lead her. This painting was done right after Frida and Diego were divorced so of course Frida is confused about where her life goes from there and who she will become now that she is a single woman again. The dark sky behind the cloud is representative of how her heart feels. She is obviously heartbroken so it’s only natural for her spirit to feel dark. The focus of this painting is on the two Fridas. They are the same person but also very different in their look and ideals. Although they are different nothing will ever tear them apart from each other. They bleed from the same bloodline. The things that set them apart from each other are important to understand in order to truly comprehend and define the story and meaning behind this piece of artwork. 

The Frida Kahlo dressed in green is “Mexi-Frida”, which is the version of Frida Kahlo that Diego Rivera was so madly in love with. She was the bisexual rebel artist not afraid to wear her body hair and bend gender boundaries. Frida was a free spirit who expressed herself through her artwork. In this painting, “Las dos Fridas”, we see a more vulnerable side of Frida. She depicts herself in two different ways, like she is trying to separate the two sides of who she is from each other. The most noticeable difference that makes “Mexi Frida” stand out is her dress. Much like this persona of hers, her dress is bright and vibrant. This is the more traditional dress of a Mexican woman and typically what Frida would wear while she was married to Diego. Her traditional Mexican fashion also represents her involvement in the Mexican communist movement. Diego was a member and a well-respected member so of course Frida stood by these values as well. 

One of the major elements are their hearts. For Mexi-Frida, not only is her heart out in the open but it is whole and full. She feels whole and full from having a husband who loves her dearly, Frida is complete. She is even holding a locket with a picture of Diego Rivera in it. Her face also appears to be slightly darker than her counterpart. This symbolizes a stronger warmth in her soul and more love. Another important detail in “Mexi-Fridas” face is the presence of more facial hair and stronger features. This strengthens and defines her face to be more masculine than it is on the other Frida.  “Mexi-Frida” sits with her legs wider open, similar to the way a man would which is also a testament to how open she was about her gender bending personality and sexuality. This free spirit Frida Kahlo would continue to be the love of Diego Rivera’s life and even despite their divorce he continued to do what he could to give her artwork the recognition it deserved especially after she became bed ridden in her middle ages. 

The Frida on the left is the European version of Frida. She is more modern about the things she wears and her overall mentality. Even her wearing a white dress is a symbol of a more “pure” and “virginal” version of herself. Euro Frida also has a lighter face. Throughout history it has been a common theme that the lighter and brighter something is, the better a connotation it has and the same principle applies to skin color. Her heart is completely broken which is why she is bleeding on her dress and doing the best she can to stop the bleeding using a clamp. Her heart is bleeding because this is the Frida that Diego did not and could not love. He wanted the rebellious Mexican Frida instead. An important aspect about Euro Frida is how open and broken her heart is. This painting was meant to be an emotional testament to who she was as a woman and how vulnerable she was at this point. Her heart is truly open and out there for Diego but he betrayed her with his multiple affairs, including one with her sister which led to their divorce.

An important lesson from this painting is that separation of self is impossible and detrimental to one’s health especially when it is inspired by a significant other. Often times people want to pick and choose which parts of a person they want but it is unfair and painful. I think this is Frida’s real message here and also why I love this painting so much. It is relatable to me because at one point in time, I felt the same way Frida did, like I had to separate pieces of me to make someone else happy. The reality is, it is impossible to separate pieces of yourself without causing harm to yourself and your soul. 
