The traditions of home and family informed the art of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, despite their unconventional marriage. They separated, divorced, and remarried and were not monogamous. Scenes of daily life communicated a deep reverence for extended familial relationships and the role of the home as a place that provides sustenance while nurturing community and shared identity. Traditional dress and furnishings shown in domestic settings expressed mexicanidad—an ideology that embraced Indigenous and mestizo cultures as the foundations of a national identity. Kahlo blended her ethnically diverse background into an identity marked by defiant independence, sexual liberation, and artistic freedom in the face of expectations of wifely duty and motherhood.
Artist unknown
Untitled (Diego and Frida), about 1930
Gelatin silver print
Throckmorton Fine Art, New York
The marriage of Rivera and Kahlo in 1929 seemed like a pairing of opposites. At twenty-one, Kahlo was just beginning her artistic career and had never left Mexico. In contrast, Rivera was forty-two and had traveled extensively, married twice, and was the father of several young children.
[Artwork Description: A black and white photograph of Diego River and Frida Kahlo shown standing side by side and facing slightly right. Rivera is at left and his broad figure fills most of that side of the photo. He wears dark double-breasted jacket and lighter colored trousers. His arms appear to be behind his back. He wears wire rimmed glasses and slight smile while looking off to the lower right. He has short, dark curly hair and has light skin. Kahlo stands to the right and appears slight compared to Rivera. She has her arms crossed in front of her and wears a patterned shawl that draped over her shoulders and arms. Her white full skirt sports three pairs of alternating horizontal ribbon stripes. Kahlo wears her dark hair up and away from her face. She has light skin and dark eyebrows. Her gaze follows Rivera’s to the lower right of the photo. They appear to be in a gallery with letters on the wall behind them reading “Painting”. Portions of framed artwork can be seen behind Kahlo.]
Guillermo Kahlo
German, 1871–1941
Family Portrait with Frida Kahlo as a Young Girl, 1928
Gelatin silver print
Throckmorton Fine Art, New York
Frida Kahlo’s father, Guillermo, was a professional photographer. In this family portrait, his wife, Matilde Calderón y González, is seated at the center. At her left is her eldest daughter, also named Matilde, with her husband, Francisco (Paco) Hernández; at her right is her daughter Adriana, with her husband, Alberto Veraza. Frida stands behind her mother, while Cristina, the youngest, sits at her feet. The young boy may be Carlos Veraza, Alberto’s son from a previous marriage.
[Artwork Description: A black and white photograph of a family of eight light skinned individuals formally posed outdoors. There are three rows of figures: three standing in the back row, three seated figures in the middle row and two figures seated on the ground in the front row. The back row consists of an older man dressed in a three piece suit with his hands in trouser pockets. His hair is combed back from his face, his head slightly titled to the left. The center figure is a young Frida with her arm crossed in front of her chest with her hand resting outstretched on her right upper arm. She is wearing a dark dress with a large cross on a necklace. Her dark hair is center parted and pulled back and her chin is drawn slightly inward. The next figure is a man wearing a dark suit with his left hand on his waist. He has dark hair combed away from his face. The middle row contains three female figures, all slightly heavy set, the two on the ends having dark hair that is center parted and ends in curls at ear length. The woman in the center appears older and has a similar hairstyle and is grayer. The younger women on the ends each wear tops that are embellished with embroidery. The woman in center wears a dark jacket over a patterned dress. Each has their hands folded in their laps. The bottom row features a young woman at left and a young boy at right. The woman sits on a cushion with her legs extended out before her. She wears a light-colored dress with lace collar and cuffs, stockings and dark heels. The boy is wearing a suit and striped tie and sits crossed legged. The group appear to be out of doors in perhaps a courtyard. They are seated in front a wall and window of a house with lush vegetation. The group is posed on a carpet and is flanked by bits of furniture like tables and small bench seating.]
Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
Modesta, 1937
Oil on canvas
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
Rivera painted several small portraits of children. They were often the children of close friends and relatives or of his household staff. Modesta was a daughter of Delfina Flores, who worked for Rivera. She wears a traditional dress and sits on a rush chair, a typical piece of furniture in a Mexican home at this time.
[Artwork Description: Portrait of a young girl, Modesta, sitting on a traditional wooden chair. She appears to be a toddler, has light brown skin, short, choppy, straight, brown hair, dark eyes, and very rosy cheeks. She is wearing a traditional shirt that is white with cap sleeves. A red ribbon runs along the neck seam and two rows of smaller red ribbons are woven into the fabric of the sleeves. A large belt made up of a dark pink background with light pink swirls is tightened around her waist and a couple inches of shirt extends below it. Her skirt is black, has pleats all the way around, and comes to her ankles and sprawls out over the chair seat. Her bare feet rest on the chair rung and her hands lay relaxed in her lap. She has almond shaped eyes, the right is slightly larger than the left. The light wooden chair has flowers painted on the top rung of the seat back. A few olive-green leaves and red flower buds are seen over both shoulders. There are silver knobs on the top of the chair back. It sits on a light brown wooden floor with a greenish tint with heavy grain patterns and a tan textured wall.]
Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
Sunflowers, 1943
Oil on canvas
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
[Artwork Description: Oil painting of two children playing with dolls on the ground in front of a large brown pot of eight sunflowers in the background. The child on the left wears a tan shirt and tan cropped wide-legged pants, bare feet resting on the ground. The child has brown skin, short black hair, large angled eyes, a large nose, and a down-turned lip. The child holds a large doll with white skin, a purple shirt, dark hair, and a leg that has been removed and is laying out on the ground. A second doll with a purple shirt with a round white decoration, pink shorts, and purple shoes leans against the sunflower pot. To the right, an older child with brown skin and short black hair sits on their knees wearing a white collared shirt and baggy tan pants. The child looks downward on a white mask with a painted face in his hands. Below a yellow and red chicken mask lies on the ground. The sunflowers have large brown centers and layered yellow petals that come to a point at the end. Large brownish green leaves fill the space between the blossoms. The stems are curved and the flowers seem to almost hover above the children.]
Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
The Healer, 1943
Gouache on paper
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
This traditional healer is surrounded by the materials of his trade: baskets full of medicinal ingredients, dried herbs, and other produce. Many of Rivera’s paintings from this period record aspects of culture that were quickly disappearing from urban life.
[Artwork Description: Gouache painting on paper of a traditional Mexican healer treating a young boy with a gash on his head. The healer wears white pants and a white long sleeve shirt with a collar and buttons in the front, brown sandals, and a large tan hat with a wide brim. His left foot is folded under his right leg and rests against the wooden block he sits on. The woman wears a long rose colored skirt and a blue scarf that covers her head and drapes down her back. The boy is barefoot and wears cut off green shorts. He isn’t wearing a shirt and his arms are outstretched above his head, his right arm being held by the woman and left by the healer. The healer’s left hand rests on the boy’s black hair, with his thumb near the deep gash that has a red center surrounded by a cream border. The healer’s traditional healing materials surround him. To the left is a wooden tray with a brown pitcher, brown pot with a silver spoon, and white linens. Behind it is a small brown woven basket with oval items, two white, and three brown, and a green glass bottle. Behind this is a very large ceramic vase with a flat black platter on it and a pot with flames around it. On the wall are two brooms hanging upside down. Along the back wall large bundles of natural items hang upside down drying. Near the front left corner is a bunch of white flowers with large green leaves tied together with a brown robe hanging upside down. Further to the right is a large bundle hanging that is covered in fabric and has brown ribbon as a tie. A series of large baskets with fabric covering the top hang on the right side. A large wooden trunk sits to the right of the woman on the floor.]
Florence Arquin
American, 1900–1974
Frida Kahlo in Coyoacán, Mexico, 1940
Gelatin silver print
Throckmorton Fine Art, New York
[Artwork Description: This is a black and white photograph of Frida Kahlo outdoors, positioned in the center of the photograph. Bright sunlight illuminates her head, neck and arms and the top of the back of the chair she’s sitting on. We only see the top few inches of the chair, which has a wooden frame and a woven string back. The rest is cut off by the bottom of the photograph. Frida is turned toward us, with her arms folded and resting on the top of the back of the chair. Except for a short cap-type sleeve, her arms are uncovered. She is looking left, with her face almost in profile. Her eyes are partly shut, and she’s either not wearing lipstick or it’s a light shade. Her long black hair is pulled back tightly, gathered into a single thick strand by two slender bands, and coiled on the top of her head. A large earring dangles from her left ear, casting a shadow on her neck. Behind her and to her right (our left) is a thick stone pillar connected at its top to a horizontal stone, most of which is cut off by the top of the picture. It suggests a stone gateway. Two very small carved figures are visible just inside the gateway. Along the left side of the photograph, next to the stone column, a stone figure several feet tall carved in a primitive style stands on top of a low stone wall; a small plant trails down from the top of the low wall. Part of a leafy shrub or small tree in the upper left corner of the photograph is visible behind the low stone wall. The low wall and the gateway, both on the left side of the photograph, are brightly lit by the sun, while the middle and right side of the photograph, the area within the gateway, is deeply shadowed, highlighting Frida’s sunlit face, neck and arms.]
Bernice Kolko
Polish, 1905–1970
Frida in the Garden, Coyoacán, 1953
Gelatin silver print
Throckmorton Fine Art, New York
[Artwork Description: Gelatin silver print. Frida sits in her courtyard in front of a window, door, and a raised bed with multiple cacti. Frida wears a long black skirt, an ornate shirt, and a heavily patterned shawl. The top of the shirt has a dark flat collar, a light-colored rectangle that comes to a point at the bottom with a black ribbon running through the middle. The center is gray with a dark gray outline of a flower. A pattern of thick, dark ribbon bordered by light fabric repeats a few times and then ends with a bottom border of three-inch-long white lace with a floral pattern and a wavy bottom. Her gray shawl has a busy detailed pattern in cream that is a bit blurred in the photo. The sleeves have lace on the edge that mirror the bottom of her shirt. She wears multiple necklaces, the first being a long necklace that goes to her calves with black round beads that come together at her knees with multiple strands of smaller black and white beads and then a single strand of beads continuing downward. She also wears a choker that has ornate details that are difficult to distinguish in the photo, but a large section with multiple geometric and organic shapes is visible on the right. She wears large, multilayered light-colored earrings that nearly touch her shoulders. Her hair is in a bun and woven with a light-colored strip of fabric. Her eyes are partially closed, and she gazes to the right. Her lips are pursed, but her face looks as if she is about to smile. Her hands rest on her knees, large rings on every finger. A large black pot with a short cactus with thick pointed leaves pointing upward sits on a raised cement platform near her right hand. A large cactus with a single pillar rises behind the shorter cactus. Another plant with rounded stalks sits behind it. In the background is a light-colored wall with a dark window frame and door. A small sculpture of a figure sitting and holding a hat and jacket sits on the windowsill along with other unidentifiable objects.]