1 of steel, 3 of leather, and 24 of plaster
TRANSCRIPT
Frida’s 28 corsets1 of Steel, 3 of Leather, and 24 of
Plaster
At age 18, Frida was seriously injured in a collision between a trolley car and a bus on which she was a
passenger.
Frida’s retablo relates the story of her accident.
Frida touched up another artist’s retablo of her accident to make the injured girl look more like herself.
The ACCIDENT left her with multiple fractures of her vertebrae, pelvis, right leg, right foot. In
addition, she was impaled by a steel handrail that entered her abdominal cavity.
28 CORSETS
AS A RESULT OF THE ACCIDENT,
Frida wore CORSETS for most of her life because her spine was too weak to
support itself.
One made of steel was covered in
leather.
The Broken Column, 1944Frida painted a self-portrait wearing the steel
corset. The broken Ionic column, nails, and tears show her pain.
The painting also carried a message of humor: “Look very closely at my eyes…the pupils are little doves of peace. That is my little joke on pain and suffering…”
Frida Kahlo wore plaster corsets for most of her life . She painted them with meaningful symbols like a blood-red hammer and sickle representing the Communist Party that she
respected and adored.
An unborn baby is also painted on this corset representing the child
she was never able to have.
She painted plants, animals and other images on her plaster corsets that were meaningful to her.
Down and Crazy!Sometimes Frida covered her corsets with pasted scraps of fabric and feathers, embedded them with mirrors and carved
an open circle in the plaster like a skylight near the heart.
Tree of Hope-- Stand Strong, 1946
Figure on left: Kahlo lies on a gurney after
her operation
Figure on the right: Frida sits strongly and
wears festive clothing appearing to be positive about her healing. However, the figure is shedding a tear and holding a large back brace, both reminders of her true condition.
Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick, 1954Painted just before she died, this artwork shows Frida wearing a brace
but casting away her crutches with help from the healing hands of Marxism that she believed in as a source of guidance.
La Casa Azul in Coyoacán, Mexico
The corsets remain to this day in her famous blue house—
Examples of hand-painted corsets by Atlanta area art teachers
Birds of Paradise and Dove
Angel Wings
