Frida Khalo's Last Portrait by Sinduja

Frida Khalo's Last Portrait by Sinduja - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

I anticipated eating dinner with her in a hospital room as she recovers from a recent surgery as her body has been deteriorating since the age of eight. Paint bottles and brushes would be within the grasp of her fingertips and portraits scattered around the room. I wouldn’t underestimate the frail state she was in as I was aware that her mind was sharp. I don’t know if she understood the new standards for modern artists, but that would not matter to her. Frida Kahlo would take anything and use it in her own paintings, regardless of others.

Frida Kahlo is a very individualistic woman which can be seen through her art, clothes, and personality. She is very open minded and will express her opinions in any given situation. Although she never considered herself a feminist, she represented, with her masculine and feminine features, a woman who would break down the barriers of patriarchy. Her paintings were graphic and raw. Her imagery and style were very original, dramatic, and courageous. She’s some of the strongest women I ever heard of, as she battled polio, a bus accident that resulted in her inability to have kids, and the disease at required amputations for her survival. Painting became a way for her coping, resulting in strong and bold paintings, revealing the gruesome pain that she endured in her life.

We would talk like old friends. She was open and warm, having the secret to forming a friendship with anyone. We might discuss the conflict between communism and capitalism, her struggles, or her innate passion for originality. She would tell me about her self-portraits, which depict the suffering she endured for her entire life. I would share my thoughts, knowing that she would listen and consider them before she responds back gently. Regardless of the topic, I know that she will hold herself high and steadfast to her convictions.

As the dinner slip by, I would yearn for another. I am inspired by her strength, beauty, and boldness. She faced more emotional pain than many people did in their lifetimes, but she didn’t care. “I am not sick. I am not broken,” she reminded us. She was more than her disabilities and fears, and showed it through her paintings. She drank, smoked, and believed to be the daughter of the Mexican Revolution. Her husband, Diego Rivera, said, "Frida is the only example in the history of art of an artist who tore open her chest and heart to reveal the biological truth of her feelings. The only woman who has expressed in her work an art of the feelings, functions, and creative power of woman." She was the first of few women to embrace womanhood, rather to become subservient to the standards.

She lived her life to the fullest, despite the pain, handicaps, and suffering she endured. Her paintings were beautiful, heartbreaking works that was uniquely hers. To sit with her would be inspiring, reminding me. She knew who she wanted to be and didn’t allow anyone to stop her, something that many people today don’t have. I would be filled with awe after talking to the enigmatic Frida Kahlo and would be kindled by her fiery personality to stand against my oppressors.