Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo
by Hayden Herrera
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Description
Hailed by readers and critics across the country, this engrossing biography of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo reveals a woman of extreme magnetism and originality, an artist whose sensual vibrancy came straight from her own experiences: her childhood near Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution; a devastating accident at age eighteen that left her crippled and unable to bear children; her tempestuous marriage to muralist Diego Rivera and intermittent love affairs with men as diverse as Isamu show more Noguchi and Leon Trotsky; her association with the Communist Party; her absorption in Mexican folklore and culture; and her dramatic love of spectacle. Here is the tumultuous life of an extraordinary twentieth-century woman. show lessTags
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JuliaMaria Frida Kahlo fotografierti in ihrem Haus von der großen Fotografin Gisèle Freund.
Member Reviews
read this book some years ago and it still shapes and haunts me. her life was such an elaborate interweaving of pain and celebration, primal and devastating. Herrera does a magnificent job of balancing a biographical, historical examination of this larger than life figure, along with examining the culture that Frida celebrated, with words that could not be more entertaining or insightful.
i would recommend this book to any reader, art lover or not, who wishes to look into a culture, a lifestyle, beyond their own.
i would recommend this book to any reader, art lover or not, who wishes to look into a culture, a lifestyle, beyond their own.
Enjoyed this book immensely. A very detailed, informative and readable biography. I've gone from a point of knowing virtually nothing about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera (or, to be honest, Mexican art in general) to being fascinated with them, their art and their politics. I've got to explore further!
As a very welcome (and necessary) bonus the book contains a lot of photographs and colour and black and white plates of Frida Kahlo's works, which are extensively referenced in the text.
As a very welcome (and necessary) bonus the book contains a lot of photographs and colour and black and white plates of Frida Kahlo's works, which are extensively referenced in the text.
I know so little about art. Still less about Mexico. Vitually nothing about communism in Mexico. This book alleviated each of these deficiencies to some degree.
Kahlo lived a physically painful life; helped very little, it seems by mid-twentieth century medicine. Either in spite of the physical nightmare she endured or because of it, we are left with a record of true genius, however macabre it at times it appears.
Herrera was able to keep me, a self confessed art neophyte, focused for two months as I read 10 pages or so about 5 nights a week.
Kahlo lived a physically painful life; helped very little, it seems by mid-twentieth century medicine. Either in spite of the physical nightmare she endured or because of it, we are left with a record of true genius, however macabre it at times it appears.
Herrera was able to keep me, a self confessed art neophyte, focused for two months as I read 10 pages or so about 5 nights a week.
Bestimmend für Leben und Werk der mexikanischen Malerin Frida Kahlo (1907 - 54) war ein schwerer Unfall, von dessen Folgen sie sich zeitlebens nicht mehr richtig erholen sollte. Über Monate zum Stilliegen verurteilt, beginnt sie zu malen, und die Malerei gibt ihr die Möglichkeit, sich von ihrer Angst und ihrem Leid zu befreien. Hayden Herreras Biographie, die hier in einer erweiterten Neuausgabe vorliegt, zeichnet den Lebensweg dieser bewundernswerten Frau nach und liefert gleichzeitig eine ebenso kenntnisreiche wie ausführliche Analyse ihres Werkes.
I read this while I was in Mexico during a 3 week back packing trip. It really was the perfect book to read especially since I could visualize Frida's home ,which I made my boyfriend go to, and all of the big beautiful spaces of Mexico City and Mexico in general.
I also really loved how it examined her relationship with Diego Rivera even though it was heartbreaking to read at the same time.
I also really loved how it examined her relationship with Diego Rivera even though it was heartbreaking to read at the same time.
Part of series of books on Hispanics of Achievement, Frida Kahlo, trails the life of a beautiful, talented young woman who suffers through a series of tragedies and uses the canvass as narrative of her life and well as voice for the political movements of her time. Frida Kahlo's life will capture the interest of the young reader, but some of the topics discussed are of a mature nature. The biography could be used cross-curriculum for art, history, social science and English.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Coincidentally I read it immediately prior to reading Kingsolver's Lacuna. She used this book as a major reference when writing that novel. Reading the two books so close in time enhanced my pleasure with both books.
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Author Information
Hayden Herrera is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Arshile Gorky: His Life and Work, as well as Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo and Matisse: A Portrait.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Frida Kahlo
- Original title
- Frida – A Biography of Frida Kahlo
- Original publication date
- 1983
- People/Characters
- Frida Kahlo; Diego Rivera
- Important places
- Mexico
- Related movies
- Frida (2002 | IMDb)
- First words*
- Die Lebensgeschichte der Frida Kahlo beginnt und endet im selben Haus.
- Last words*
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Dann setzte sie in grossen Buchstaben ihren letzten Gruss an das Leben darunter: Viva la vida, Es lebe das Leben.
- Original language*
- Englisch
- Disambiguation notice
- Ms. Herrera wrote at least two different books about Frida Kahlo. One about her paintings, and a biography. Please keep them separate.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Members
- 1,805
- Popularity
- 12,111
- Reviews
- 17
- Rating
- (4.15)
- Languages
- 16 — Arabic, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Lithuanian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Portuguese (Portugal)
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 75
- ASINs
- 9