Photographing Frida

Frida Kahlo is one of the most iconic artists of recent times, often seen as the master of modern Mexican art. Her coveted works hang in galleries across the world and her strength of character and powerful femininity remain exemplary today. 

An exhibition has recently opened in Dallas in the PDNB (Photographs Do Not Bend) Gallery having first appeared in Le Grand Palais last year. The exhibition gives us an intimate look at the real, human side of Frida through a series of photographs taken by some of her closest friends. 

First, we are introduced to Lucienne Bloch: initially a friend of Diego Rivera (Mexican muralist and Frida's husband), Bloch became one of Frida's closest companions throughout her life. Bloch stood by her through some of Frida's toughest times, of which there were countless, and thus her photographs are intimate and revealing. 

Kahlo had an infamously difficult life, most famously suffering a horrific accident when she was young: a bus crash in which she broke multiple bones and was impaled by a metal pole, leaving her bed-ridden for a number of years and injured for life. Furthermore, she suffered a traumatic miscarriage later on in her life, during which Bloch was present. The tight-knit friendship that these two had, partly due to what Frida had been through, is reflected in the beautiful photographs below. 

The second photographer who is on show at the exhibition is Nickolas Muray: a lover of Frida. She and her husband had multiple affairs during their passionate and tumultuous relationship, yet this affair with Muray lasted over a decade. Despite Muray wanting to marry Kahlo, she was more content keeping the relationship as an affair and their infidelity therefore fizzled out around 1941. However, they did remain good friends until Frida’s death in 1954. What is evident from Muray’s photographs is an alternative intimacy to that of Bloch: one of an ardent and amorous liaison. 

Frida Kahlo was a formidable woman, an immensely talented artist and a fiercely passionate (yet not always loyal) companion. Her works will remain quintessential pieces for further understanding both the importance of Mexican heritage to the Mexican people as well as her extensive personal suffering and trauma that she experienced during her life. 

Check out some of the intimate and revealing photographs below and, if you’re intrigued, get yourself to Mexico City to see some of her greatest works; it’s a great excuse for a holiday.