I feel that I have been neglecting the more classical Bohemians, so it is here I present one talented woman. Frida Kahlo has been referenced numerous times as the quintessential Bohemian, from the way she dressed to the way she painted. (If you don't believe me, read Laren Stover's book on Bohemians and count how many times she references Kahlo.)
Frida was born in Mexico City on July 6th, 1907. She was the third daughter out of four born to her parents, a Lutheran father and a Catholic mother. At the age of six, polio resulted in Kahlo's right leg being thinner than the left, a feature that lasted the rest of her life and was covered by her wearing long skirts most of the time. Kahlo was on track to studying medicine when, at the age of eighteen, a bus that Kahlo was riding in crashed into a trolley car, resulting in multiple broken bones, including her pelvis and spinal column. On top of this, an iron handrail punctured her uterus, making her unable to have children; though she conceived several times, all of her pregnancies had to be destroyed due to the risk. Kahlo eventually regained the ability to walk, though she relapsed several times and had over 30 surgeries over the next few years.
It was here that Kahlo abandoned medicine and took up painting, as it passed the time during the sessions where she was immobilized or bedridden. Her experiences with pain translated into many of her best works of art, many of which were primarily self-portraits. She is quoted as saying: "I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best" (Kettenmann 27). In her lifetime, Kahlo created about 140 paintings, along with several drawings and studies. 55 of these works are self-portraits. 1938 marked the first time her paintings were displayed in a U.S gallery, at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York City.
Frida had a relationship with painter Diego Rivera, who encouraged her vision and admired her talent. Though they married, their union was often troubled, as both Kahlo and Rivera had extramarital affairs, with Kahlo having affairs with both men and women due to her bisexual nature. Kahlo and Rivera also became good friends with Communist Leon Trotsky, who Kahlo eventually had an affair with. However, both her and Rivera abandoned Trotsky's ideology and supported Stalin after Trotsky was assassinated. Less than twenty years later, Kahlo had her right leg amputated and her health began to decline. She died in Mexico City at the age of 47.
Kahlo only became widely recognized in the early 1980's, when the art movement of Neomexicanismo began to form. Her 100th birthday in 2007 was celebrated with the largest exhibit of her paintings ever presented to the public. Today, she is remembered as not only a Mexican folk artist, but also one of the most significant surrealists and pioneers of modern Bohemianism.
(In accordance to her self-identifying mantra of being the "ribbon around the bomb", I will probably put that mantra on my denim jacket somewhere).
For more about Frida, check her out on Pinterest and her posthumous website:
Works cited:
Andrea Kettenmann, Frida Kahlo. Frida Kahlo, 1907–1954: Pain And Passion. Page 27.
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