''Memory, the Heart'', a 1937 painting by the Mexican artist
Frida Kahlo
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...
, depicts the
pain and anguish Kahlo experienced during and after an affair between her husband, artist
Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art.
Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...
, and her sister,
Cristina Kahlo
Cristina Kahlo y Calderón (7 June 1908 – 8 February 1964) was the sister of artist Frida Kahlo. Frida painted a portrait of Cristina, titled ''Portrait of Cristina, My Sister'', and Diego Rivera, Frida's husband, also portrayed Cristina Kahlo ...
.
The painting is sometimes known by the title ''Recuerdo'' (''Memory''). The oil-on-metal work measures 40 x 28 cm, and is held in the collection of Michel Petitjean in Paris, France.
Description
Kahlo portrays herself standing on a beach by the water's edge, one foot on the sand and one in the sea, looking towards the viewer with an expressionless face covered in tears. A metal rod goes through a large empty space in her chest. The rod has an image of
Cupid
In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...
at each end, shown as if riding a
seesaw
A seesaw (also sometimes known as a teeter-totter in North America) is a long, narrow board supported by a single pivot point, most commonly located at the midpoint between both ends; as one end goes up, the other goes down. These are most comm ...
. Frida's heart is represented by a large bleeding mutilated organ lying outside her body. The blood from the heart seeps into the sand and flows into the sea. Two dresses, one a schoolgirl dress, the other her traditional
Tehuantepec
Tehuantepec (, in full, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec) is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre-Hispanic per ...
-style costume, hang near Frida; not empty, they contain one human arm apiece. The schoolgirl dress arm reaches for but does not touch Frida, while the arm in the Tehuana dress supports the armless and immobile artist.
These symbols and others in the painting show the artist's immense pain, and her personal emotional damage and rebuilding, resulting from the affair between her sister and husband.
''Memory, the Heart''
at fridakahlo.org
See also
* List of paintings by Frida Kahlo
The following is a list of notable paintings by the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired ...
References
External links
''Memory, the Heart''
at fridakahlofans.com, which contains another picture of the painting.
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Paintings of Cupid
Paintings by Frida Kahlo
1937 paintings
Paintings in Paris
Water in art
Self-portraits by Frida Kahlo