I read a book recently. It mentioned The Two Fridas, so of course, I Googled it. I love how there’s so much in it that you can see and analyze (mind you, I am far from being an expert on this, but I still liked the idea). So, here’s what is see.
They’re sitting on a bench, turned to one another. The posture in the Frida on the right is more relaxed. She’s leaning back more. There also seems to be a shade over her. The colors dominating that side of the painting are a bit darker as if she’s in the background. The Frida on the right is a bit more accentuated by the predominately white color of her clothes and the light over her face.
The Frida on the left is bleeding out from a self-inflicted cut, though, so that changes the situation. Given that context, it looks like the Frida on the right is supporting the other Frida in her heartache.
They’re bleeding from both of their hearts, and they’re holding hands. The same vein connects the two hearts. There’s also a vein on both hearts, stretching to their throats like tiny hands gripping at them.
What’s interesting is the two hearts. The one on the left is split vertically, so we can see not only the heart but what’s in it (meaning the heart was open violently – broken), and the shirt is ripped. From the cuts in the fabric, it looks like somebody did a vertical cut and then widened it to pull out the heart. The one on the right looks like somebody rested it on the chest. It’s in the open but clean, and we don’t have a view of the inside like we do with the one on the left.
Looking more at The Two Fridas, it seems like the line on the floor splits the painting in half. The line is very clean and leveled, which creates more distance between the two Fridas sitting on the bench and the background. It’s almost as if there is a glass barrier between the two settings, and it could mean leaving something behind or that the storm passed?
The painting is pretty concise, focusing on the hearts and giving the story of her (or rather, their) state of mind. I’m not sure what the Frida on the right is holding, but it could be something to close the wound and stop the bleeding since we see on the other side that they’re both bleeding out. It’s about one saving and supporting the other.
Since these are the two Fridas, the two illustrations of the same person, we can conclude that they represent the two points in time. The two Fridas sitting here together don’t belong to the same timeline.
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist known for her self-portraits. As someone who worked within the frames of realism, surrealism and cubism, she is one of the most important artists of the 20th century.
If you reached this part of the post, hi👋and thank you! What do you think about the painting? What do you see in it?
If you want to read more about it or know the actual meaning behind it, check The Two Fridas out at the official website linked here.
Okay, thanky, bye!
My Little Hawk 