Book Description
Few artists have captured the public's imagination with the force of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. During her lifetime, she was best known as the flamboyant wife of celebrated muralist Diego Rivera. Theirs was a tumultuous relationship: Rivera declared himself to be "unfit for fidelity." As if to assuage her pain, Kahlo recorded the vicissitudes of her marriage in paint. She also recorded the misery of her deteriorating health--the orthopedic corsets that she was forced to wear, the numerous spinal surgeries, the miscarriages and therapeutic abortions. The artist's sometimes harrowing imagery is mitigated by an intentional primitivism and small scale, as well as by her sardonic humor and extraordinary imagination. In celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of Kahlo's birth, this major new monograph is published on the occasion of the 2007-08 traveling exhibition. It features the artist's most renowned work--the hauntingly seductive and often brutal self-portraits--as well as a selection of key portraits and still lifes; more than 100 color plates, from Kahlo's earliest works, made in 1926, to her last, in 1954; critical essays by Elizabeth Carpenter, Hayden Herrera and Victor Zamudio-Taylor; and a selection of photographs of Kahlo and Rivera by preeminent photographers of the period, including Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Lola Alvarez Bravo, Gisele Freund, Tina Modotti and Nickolas Muray. The catalogue also contains snapshots from the artist's own photo albums of Kahlo with family and friends such as Andre Breton and Leon Trotsky--some of which have never been published, and several of which Kahlo inscribed with dedications, effaced with self-deprecating marks or kissed with a lipstick trace--plus an extensive illustrated timeline, selected bibliography, exhibition history and index. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Frida Kahlo - extraordinary
My wife and I saw the recent Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Walker in Minneapolis. We both thoroughly enjoyed it. I bought the book "Frida Kahlo" on line from Amazon as a gift for my wife. My wife has a bad back as did Frida. The pain in her body comes through in her art, and I think my wife felt a strong connection with Frida. My wife loved the book, and she was very happy with the gift.

Amazing essays on an amazing artist
To say that this is a major catalogue from a major exhibit is to ignore the more important point...this is a collection of brilliant essays on Kahlo and stunning photographs of her painting and related works and people in the Kahlo circle, but also Mexican folk art, history and the modernist movement in Mexico. He is also a thrilling writer and critic on the use of allegory and on Kahlo and RIvera's hatred ofwhat Zamudio-Taylor calls "the modern capitalist universe" against which both Kahlo and RIvera rewrote "Mexico's fragmented and violently interrupted history." As Z-T states, "Kahlo's mexicanidad prefigures postmodernism's distrust of progress and linear readings of history. This, most striking article, however, by Zamudio-Taylor who has apparently had extensive contact with her work and its curiatorial special questions, emphasizes Kahlo's work as existing at the cross-roads of a history and of conflicting narratives. He links her concerns not only with other Mexican painters and writers, but also the avant-garde in Paris; namely, Andre Breton. This article is amazing both for its erudition and its multi-dimensionality and detail.
This work is a collection also of fabulous paintings, photographs, time lines and for these reasons it is a must have in any library on Mexican art, modernism etc. Z-T is perhaps the most formidable of the authors of essays, but the book has alsoother major contributors, ie Carpenter, but especially Hayden Herrera and who interrogate Kahlo's legacy also as it influences those who followed, while also following up on the specific riffs in the work of others on the body, on the poetics of self that have their roots in Kahlos combustive images.

A companion book to the Frida Kahlo exhibit
Frida Kahlo is my personal favorite artist. I love her use of bright, vivid colors for subject matter that is often dark and filled with melancholy. I recently had the immense pleasure of seeing Frida's work in person at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. FRIDA KAHLO is the companion piece to the exhibit. The book focuses more on Frida's work as an artist than her tumultuous personal life which most people know by now thanks to a PBS documentary a few years ago and a biopic. Most of the book contains gorgeous photographs of Frida's paintings. I think this book is definitely worth checking out if you have seen the exhibit. It is a nice to have something to remember when the exhibit closes in January.

A beautiful exhibition
This is the catalogue for the current exhibition at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.It is divided into three essays: the first studies the artist as a Mexican modernist (the aim being to study her art itself, setting aside the myth), the second follows her life through the numerous photographs that were taken of her and which have survived (she was one of the most photographed artists of the XXth century), and the third describesthe legacy of the artist (especially interesting is her influence on contemporary artists such as Kiki Smith).

The color plates of Kahlo's works (portraits, self-portraits and still-lifes) which form the exhibition are grouped in one section, as well as a private collection of photographs of both herself and Diego Rivera.

The book is not as complete as the 2005 Tate catalogue as far as the works illustrated are concerned, but the essays are more thorough and give valuable insights on the artist and her art. ... Read more

Book 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 Noguchi and Leon Trotsky; her association with the Communist Party; her absorption in Mexican folklore and culture; and her dramatic love of spectacle.

Customer Reviews (29)

What a woman!
I learned about Frida when I took art history in college.I always wanted to know more about her because of her art work.She was so passionate!Although she was considered an abstract artist.Her art was very REAL.You can feel what she feels by looking at her art.This book really helps you understand what happened in her life and attached the painting that went along with that specific period in her life.Very well written.

There is no better Frida Kahlo biography available
Since her death, Frida Kahlo has become something of an exalted icon, representing for millions of people the alegría of a life fully lived.Hayden Herrera's insightful book both supports the artist's status, and provides devotees who never met Frida the chance to know their idol in depth, to familiarize themselves with her happiness and suffering, to experience her highs and lows.

The book's mixture of intimate biographical details (a thorough chronology and evocative descriptions of events), psychological analysis and art criticism create an intensely vivid picture of Frida Kahlo, the world in which she lived, and the means by which her art conveyed her mind and body's pain.Objectivity is retained throughout; unflattering and negative aspects of Frida's personality are discussed with attention equal to that devoted to the subject's positive traits.

As Hayden Herrera's biography shows, the benefits to Frida of putting brush to easel - with her deliberate, small strokes - were manifold: not only was painting a solace and diversion, it was also a visual expression of the pain resulting from a terrible bus accident in which she was involved when she was 18, miscarriages, and the hurt of her husband Diego Rivera's infidelities.She also used painting as a means of earning money and limiting her financial dependence on Diego after they married for a second time.(While during her lifetime one of Frida's paintings might fetch $200 from a private buyer, nowadays even small-scale works have sold for over $1,000,000 at auction.)

To me, an appealing aspect of Herrera's bio is its lack of pretense (appropriately, as pretension is something Frida disliked in any form): you won't find any flowery, purple prose here, nor do the author's analyses and assertions smack of arrogance.It is quite apparent that Hayden Herrera knows her subject top to bottom, but I never felt as if facts and dates were crammed into the text superfluously, simply as proof that she knew them.

If it happens at all, it will be many years before Hayden Herrera's "Frida:A Biography of Frida Kahlo" is replaced as the definitive biography on the subject.Having read it cover to cover three times, I can't imagine a better-written or more stimulating study of this truly unique, truly gifted person.

Biography of Frida Kahlo
An inspiring Biography of famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. It was comprehensive, read like a documentary and at some points was long and boring with gory details. Frida was such an interesting person it was worth the struggle to get to the end. I now understand her and her works so much better. I think she was an odd and eccentric person that was gifted with natural artistic talent. I recommend looking at her paintings at the same time you listen to the audio since the audio is so descriptive almost like a narrative from a museum. It doesn't make sense unless you see the works at the same time. I found them on a website dedicated to her. There is nothing like her art, she is truly original!

The definitive Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo Y Calderón
The are many good books on the market that show some of Frida's best work and many that have a good overview of her life as the daughter of Wilhelm Kahlo and the "on and off wife" of the famous mural painter Diego Rivera.

What sets this book out from the multitude is the attention to detail. There are actual correspondences from and to Frida. Also many things that may be glossed over are covered well enough that you feel you were there.

I originally saw the movie based on this book "Frida" (2002) with Salma Hayek. Many of the references in the movie were not covered even in the extensive commentaries.The book also has the time to cover the background of Frida's parents, grandparents, her friends and their relatives. We know about her trolley accident but not that much about her bout with polio.

The plates, some in color others of monochrome photos are placed on groups but referenced through out the book. Agree the descriptions they can be appreciated for not only themselves but what they meant to Frida and her friends. We also get a small glimpse of Mexico before and after the revolution.

Viva la Vida
I bought this book with a minimum of enthusiasm, to assist with my having to do a term paper in a Latin American history class at FSU. I knew who Frida was, but not much other than she was the artist-wife of Diego Rivera. Now I consider Diego Rivera as the artist-husband of the fascinating and heroic Frida. The author has succeeded in bringing this colorful and immensely brave woman to life in an engaging biography that almost reads like a novel. Watch Salma Hayek's "Frida" (Miramax 2002) and then satiate your whetted curiosity by reading the book that inspired the movie. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Frida Kahlo's diary, like her art, is painted in breathtakingly vivid colors. It covers her tumultuous last decade and encompasses love letters, political musings on Communism, and resplendent paintings. The paintings, peopled with mythic figures, self-portraits, and monsters, articulate Kahlo's fantastic visions. One drawing melds a procession of crying faces onto an intertwined couple surrounded by body parts, only to dissolve into a mass of roots and dendrites.

In the introduction, Carlos Fuentes writes, "...a streetcar crashed into the fragile bus she was riding, broke her spinal column, her collarbone, her ribs, her pelvis.... The impact of the crash left Frida naked and bloodied, but covered with gold dust." Her paintings depict her bodily experience, from anguish to sensuality. Kahlo said, "I never painted dreams, I painted my own reality." This visionary ability earned her a place among the surrealists.

Kahlo's prose delves into the associations between images and words, feelings and thought. Her writings shed welcome light on her active intelligence and provide an outline of the events of her life. This Abradale edition features plates reproducing the pages of the diary, and essays by Carlos Fuentes and Sarah Lowe that place it in the context of Mexican art, politics, and history. It is a magical work that adds to an understanding not only of Kahlo's work, but of her interior world as well.--Madeline CrowleyBook Description
Published in its entirety, Frida Kahlo's amazing illustrated journal documents the last ten years of her turbulent life. These passionate, often surprising, intimate records, kept under lock and key for some 40 years in Mexico, reveal many new dimensions in the complex personal life of this remarkable Mexican artist. The 170-page journal contains the artist's thoughts, poems, and dreams-many reflecting her stormy relationship with her husband, artist Diego Rivera-along with 70 mesmerizing watercolor illustrations.

The text entries, written in Frida's round, full script in brightly colored inks, make the journal as captivating to look at as it is to read. Her writing reveals the artist's political sensibilities, recollections of her childhood, and her enormous courage in the face of more than 35 operations to correct injuries she had sustained in an accident at the age of 18. This intimate portal into her life is sure to fascinate fans of the artist, art historians, and women's culturalists alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

art lovers delight
forthose who love the work of frida kahlo this book has lots to look at im very pleased that i found it

I adore her even more.
Frida Kahlo's diary has amplified my admiration for her. Her beautifully disturbing drawings and poetic words in this book are more than what I had expected. Though her handwriting is hard to read at times, the translations in the back are a big help. I shall cherish this book for a long time.

a MUST
When I find out there was a book of all of Frida's actual writings and drawings from her diary, I was amazed! And this book totally fit all my expectations. It includes everything from her infamous red leather bound journal that she sought refuge in until the final moments of her life. You can actually see the ink from the next page leaking through the page before it, so you feel like your reading the actual thing. Its in big, bold, deep colors just how Frida liked it, and it translates and explains everything in english in a detailed and sufficient way. Definitely a MUST for all fans of the AWESOME Frida Kahlo =)

Exceptional reproduction of actual diary pages, in full
Enrique Torres' review is 100% accurate, so I just want to add a few additional comments.

The reproduction of the diary pages is nothing short of amazing - apparently scanned with a high quality scanner, or perhaps photographed digitally or with film and then digitized.The colors of both the writing and the images appear exceptionally accurate - Frida used many different colored pencils in her diary.Even penciled notations look like pencil, ballpoint ink looks like ink, and all pages are printed on high-quality semi-gloss paper.

The second half, which contains the English translations, also contains small black & white reproductions of each page translated and of each image described/explicated.Makes it easy to return to the first half and look at the original full-color page.

CAVEAT & RECOMMENDATION:The book I have is the 2005 hardback ed. published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc.I have not seen nor can I speak of any other published editions.I would buy this edition - the price is more than reasonable and the quality top-notch.

diary of Frida Khalo
Fantastic illustrated diary, in her own handwriting an absolute must for all Khalo/Diego fans. ... Read more

Book Description

In small, stunningly rendered self–portraits, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo painted herself cracked open, hemorrhaging during a miscarriage, anesthetized on a hospital gurney, and weeping beside her own extracted heart.

Her works are so incendiary in emotion and subject matter that one art critic suggested the walls of an exhibition be covered with asbestos.

In this beautiful book, art historian Hayden Herrera brings together numerous paintings and sketches by the amazing Mexican artist, documenting each with explanatory text that probes the influences in Kahlo's life and their meaning for her work. Included among the illustrations are more than eighty full–color paintings, as well as dozens of black–and–white pictures and line illustrations. Among the famous and little–known works included in Frida Kahlo: The Paintings are The Two Fridas, Self–Portrait as a Tehuana, Without Hope, The Dream, The Little Deer, Diego and I, Henry Ford Hospital, My Birth, and My Nurse and I. Here, too, are documentary photographs of Frida Kahlo and her world that help to illuminate the various stages of her life.

Customer Reviews (8)

Burn it Blue
Great biography that explains everything you'd ever want to know about the adverse yet bittersweet life of the amazing and vibrant soul that is Frida Kahlo. Includes all, if not most of her paintings and explains each one down to the core. Also includes wonderful photos of Frida and the people in her life, throughout her entire life. I totally suggest this one =o)

Frida's whole life and paintings
If you are curious to know more about Frida Kahlo's life, inspiration, and paintings, this is the right book to look at. The paintings and photographs create a very complete biography of this great woman and artist. She was ahead of her time. This book is easy and interesting to see and to read.

An extraordinary life in art
I know nothing about Mexico or about paintings. And I am least interested to read biographies. Still I found myself intriguied by Frida Kahlo who is a Mexican painter and picked this biography on her life. Her life is very extraordinary as I found out when I watched this movie on her starring Salma Hayek.And I loved this book because it told the story of her through her paintings.
Its her paintings which make you wanna ask questions, for her paintings are not about pretty flowers or landscape or fishes in the oceans. Many of her paintings are in fact shocking in the way that they are too direct and poignant, and splattered with a lot of blood but still they are not asking for any sympathy or anything at all. Frida was a very talented woman who could make striking poetry on canvas. She painted everything with an element of her in it.... her emotions, her pain, her longing and her feelings.She is all about strength, strong will, determination,and pride. She did not try to do right or wrong thing but live her life her own way, on her rules, a woman who made herself memorable and a legend through her paintings. She inspires because of her gritty life.
This book is very engrossing read on Frida's life as seen through her paintings.

The best Kahlo bio out there
This is easily, and without fluff, the best Frida Kahlo bio in print. Herrera not only has a great gift with wordds, but she truly gets within Kahlo's turbulent times, affairs and issues to paint a very descriptive world of this brilliant, tortured woman.

A beautiful, beautiful book
My children gave this book to me for Christmas as a companion to Frida's biography. It is beautiful and comprehensive. A must-have for any fan of her work. ... Read more

Book Description
In the tradition of the best-selling Monet's Table, Frida's Fiestas is a personal account in words and pictures of many important and happy events in the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, and a scrapbook, assembled by her stepdaughter, of recipes for more than 100 dishes that Frida served to family and friends with her characteristic enthusiasm for all the pleasures of life.Full-color photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Good Food- Good Stories
The recipes are authentic- to die for! And the life stories are told with compassion from Frida's step-daughter. This is a good read- and better eat!

Beautiful!
The book is very nice.It has a lot of photos.It also tells the story about Frida and Diego.It's the perfect gift.There is also a Spanish version, which I have been unable to locate.

Frida's Fiestas
This book is a must for anyone who knows about Frida Kahlo, or for anyone who appreciates the Mexican culture.In fact, it's a great book in and of itself just for the pictures and recipes alone.I am thrilled it's another addition to my Frida Kahlo/Diego Rivera collection.Diego's daughter's recollections of her life with these two greats is fascinating.Who knows?I may even learn to cook as the recipes are festive and inspiring.

Reminiscent of Grandma
I loved this book because it was more than just recipes, it had the story as well. The recipes were true and provided with the original ingredients, reminded me of my grandmothers cooking. I would have liked to see a section that described some of the ingredients we don't normally see in our markets in order to know where to look.

This is a party book!
I bought this book for my friend for Christmas and had to have one for myself as well! The pictures are beautiful and the recipes are very unique. We are using the book to plan our next fiesta! ... Read more

Book Description
During the summer of 2007, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City hosted the most complete exhibition ever of the work of Frida Kahlo. Marking the centenary of Kahlo's birth, the Palacio showed 354 works, including 64 oil paintings, both beloved and virtually unknown, 45 drawings, 11 watercolors, 5 etchings, plus scores of letters, photographs and other personal ephemera. It was a labor of love, as well as a loving gesture, for Mexico's greatest artistic ambassador. It was also timely; Kahlo is in the air again, as young contemporary artists revisit and recast psychoanalytic, neo-Surrealistic figuration.
In 1953, when Frida Kahlo had her first solo exhibition in Mexico--the only one held in her native country during her lifetime--one critic wrote: "It is impossible to separate the life and work of this extraordinary person. Her paintings are her biography." Kahlo herself puts it better: "They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn't. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality." This essential catalogue, based on the Palacio de Bellas Artes exhibition, presents brief essays by a wide range of Kahlo scholars, poets, anthropologists, architects, psychologists and experts in many other disciplines, both from Mexico and abroad--as well as a more extended appreciation of Kahlo by the novelist Carlos Fuentes, along with Kahlo's own paintings, drawings, prints and ephemera. ... Read more

Book Description
Through original artwork by the renowned artist Tomie dePaola-a longtime aficionado of Frida Kahlo's work-as well as beautiful reproductions of Kahlo's paintings, this latest Smart About book explores the creative, imaginative world of Mexico's most celebrated female artist.

Illustrated by Tomie dePaola. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Frida Kahlo the Beautiful artist
Frida Kahlo is a very wonderful artist. Her pictures are Beautiful. She paints things really good and I think I cant even paint that good! This book tells you how good Frida Kahlo was at art. She paints herself she paints animals she paints things that blow off your head, her paintings are so good! Well, read this book to find out how frida saved her life by doing art. Reccomended for people who may want to be better at art.

Great Book!
I am a middle school art teacher and this book fits right in with my artist report unit. Using a graphic organizer, my students explored the world of famous artists. This book is great for kids because it breaks things down into simpler terms than academic or more adult works. Colorful, sweet and to the point.

Frida Kahlo: the Artist Who Painted Herself (Smart About Art)
Great idea contained in this book.Having a student present the book as her report.I used this to have my students pick artists to write a report about. Read the book to my older students. 4-7th grade.A little lengthy for the little ones. ... Read more

Book Description
"I was considered a Surrealist. That is not right. I neverpainted dreams. What I depicted, was my reality." Our book zooms right intothis reality, and it does so in a new and unusual way: presenting FridaKahlo's paintings in a general view and in selected details, it reveals thewealth of stories and creatures hidden in her self-portraits; it makestangible the life-long physical and spiritual pain endured by the artist;and it illustrates painterly skills and techniques reminiscent of oldEuropean masters. Making visible what tends to escape one's notice in herseemingly familiar paintings, this lavish volume takes even inveterateKahlo fans on a mesmerizing discovery trip to the sensuousness, the beauty,and the abysses of her world.

This monograph presents Frida Kahlo's life and work in pictures. FridaKahlo expert Helga Prignitz-Poda provides elaborate background informationon each of the paintings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Good Book

I really liked this book the only thing I wasn't expecting was the actual size of the book.I think it's to big to carry around but the actual content is great.

A Different Kind of Kahlo Book...
The first 70 pages of text in this oversized book are divided into 5 sections:

1. Childhood 1907 - 1925
2. After the Accident
3. Frida and Diego's Marriage
4. Crazy Love 1941 - 1946
5. After 1946

Each section contains a biography, chronology and photos of that period of her life. The remainder of the book contains the plates...42 of her masterpiece paintings reproduced in full color and detail. Sections of the paintings are enlarged to reveal the intricate detail, the brush strokes and even the texture of the canvas. A descriptive analysis of each painting is included to provide an insight into its meaning and her inspiration to create the piece.

I find that some of the painting commentaries in this book are contrary to those I have read in other books. The author of this book sees the paintings from a slightly different perspective.I'm not sure I agree with some of them but everybody sees art in their own way.

This edition is presented in a beautiful stamped-linen, casebound box.
The format, content and size of this book are very similar to the large Kahlo book by Luis-Martín Lozano.The suggested retail price for this book is $125.00.

Five starts for a five star artist
As a keen admirer of Frida and somebody who buys almost every publication, art print, postcard or artifact of Frida I can ensure you that this book is worth buying.

Well presented on glossy paper! The real value of the book is that it presents Frida's work in their original size even more valuable and what is truly unique is that parts/sections of her paintings is emphasized by focussing on small details in her paintings which usually goes unnoticed by the untrained eye!

Truly a prozed possession!

FRIDA The painter and her work , a review by Cheryl Millard
As a true affianado of Frida Kahlo, her art, her life ,Iam always looking for new publications about her as well as the circumstances surrounding it.I must say that I had doubts as I waited for the arrival of this grand scale book,as what hasn't been said before.Well the day finally arrived and as I pulled it out of its wrapping I knew I was in for a pleasant surprise that was not anticipated.Once inside there are not alot of photographs of her in "Frida the painter and her work" as there are numerous books already dealing only with that subject matter.But the photographs that are used help you set a minds eye of the people surrounding her life.The text is well written and fresh and offers a new understanding of the symbolism she used in her paintings.Prignitz-Poda weaves the well read Fridas historical understandings of world mythology,eastern studies and the local Aztec belief system, these along with her injury,sorrows and often crazy relationship with the one true love of her life Diego Rivera (he was said upon her passing to have instantly aged) she created some of the most loved paintings of our time.Prignitz-Poda offers a fresh look at her art through the authors broad knowledge of mythlogy, religous practices and anthropological male-female relationships in our various cultures, past and present.Enough of the dry stuff lets get on to the book itself. It is an amazing coffee table presentation complete with a beautifully constructed slip cover cloth covered with two details of Kahlos paintings adorning either side,gold stamped on the spine.The book has a thick glossy dust cover that protects the beautiful red cloth covering with FRIDA KAHLO embossed red on red on the front cover ,the spine is gold embossed as is with the slip cover and Inside the paintings are depicted complete and uncropped, then followed with a series of detailed close ups that supports the authors interpretation.The paintings are faithfully reproduced for color and crisp detail right down to the brush strokes as the artist had intended them to be seen.Too often publications will remove such detail thinking that brush strokes is a destraction to the eye when in fact it is removing the realism of the painting often leaving a blurred photographic rendition .Frida was all about realism even if it was her own reality and the imagnative world surrounding it, the author faithfullly captures the artists intent as to her own (Kahlos)realism.The reproductions are truely superb in all aspects.
I would recommend this well written book for its fresh approach regarding her paintings and life without rehashing the sensationalism surrounding her life,the faithful color reproductions and the archival-like quality in the construction of the book is outstanding,It is a true must have for the Frida collector or for those just starting out on a labor of love.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Good Book

I really liked this book the only thing I wasn't expecting was the actual size of the book.I think it's to big to carry around but the actual content is great.

A Different Kind of Kahlo Book...
The first 70 pages of text in this oversized book are divided into 5 sections:

1. Childhood 1907 - 1925
2. After the Accident
3. Frida and Diego's Marriage
4. Crazy Love 1941 - 1946
5. After 1946

Each section contains a biography, chronology and photos of that period of her life. The remainder of the book contains the plates...42 of her masterpiece paintings reproduced in full color and detail. Sections of the paintings are enlarged to reveal the intricate detail, the brush strokes and even the texture of the canvas. A descriptive analysis of each painting is included to provide an insight into its meaning and her inspiration to create the piece.

I find that some of the painting commentaries in this book are contrary to those I have read in other books. The author of this book sees the paintings from a slightly different perspective.I'm not sure I agree with some of them but everybody sees art in their own way.

This edition is presented in a beautiful stamped-linen, casebound box.
The format, content and size of this book are very similar to the large Kahlo book by Luis-Martín Lozano.The suggested retail price for this book is $125.00.

Five starts for a five star artist
As a keen admirer of Frida and somebody who buys almost every publication, art print, postcard or artifact of Frida I can ensure you that this book is worth buying.

Well presented on glossy paper! The real value of the book is that it presents Frida's work in their original size even more valuable and what is truly unique is that parts/sections of her paintings is emphasized by focussing on small details in her paintings which usually goes unnoticed by the untrained eye!

Truly a prozed possession!

FRIDA The painter and her work , a review by Cheryl Millard
As a true affianado of Frida Kahlo, her art, her life ,Iam always looking for new publications about her as well as the circumstances surrounding it.I must say that I had doubts as I waited for the arrival of this grand scale book,as what hasn't been said before.Well the day finally arrived and as I pulled it out of its wrapping I knew I was in for a pleasant surprise that was not anticipated.Once inside there are not alot of photographs of her in "Frida the painter and her work" as there are numerous books already dealing only with that subject matter.But the photographs that are used help you set a minds eye of the people surrounding her life.The text is well written and fresh and offers a new understanding of the symbolism she used in her paintings.Prignitz-Poda weaves the well read Fridas historical understandings of world mythology,eastern studies and the local Aztec belief system, these along with her injury,sorrows and often crazy relationship with the one true love of her life Diego Rivera (he was said upon her passing to have instantly aged) she created some of the most loved paintings of our time.Prignitz-Poda offers a fresh look at her art through the authors broad knowledge of mythlogy, religous practices and anthropological male-female relationships in our various cultures, past and present.Enough of the dry stuff lets get on to the book itself. It is an amazing coffee table presentation complete with a beautifully constructed slip cover cloth covered with two details of Kahlos paintings adorning either side,gold stamped on the spine.The book has a thick glossy dust cover that protects the beautiful red cloth covering with FRIDA KAHLO embossed red on red on the front cover ,the spine is gold embossed as is with the slip cover and Inside the paintings are depicted complete and uncropped, then followed with a series of detailed close ups that supports the authors interpretation.The paintings are faithfully reproduced for color and crisp detail right down to the brush strokes as the artist had intended them to be seen.Too often publications will remove such detail thinking that brush strokes is a destraction to the eye when in fact it is removing the realism of the painting often leaving a blurred photographic rendition .Frida was all about realism even if it was her own reality and the imagnative world surrounding it, the author faithfullly captures the artists intent as to her own (Kahlos)realism.The reproductions are truely superb in all aspects.
I would recommend this well written book for its fresh approach regarding her paintings and life without rehashing the sensationalism surrounding her life,the faithful color reproductions and the archival-like quality in the construction of the book is outstanding,It is a true must have for the Frida collector or for those just starting out on a labor of love.
... Read more

Book Description
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is one of the most important 20th-century painters and one of the few Latin American artists to have achieved a global reputation. In the vibrant colors of her native Mexico, she expressed the burdens that weighed upon her soul. Full-color reproductions and thorough text provide a quick yet solid introduction to this master. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A wonderful introduction to Kahlo (a review of the English translation)
If you saw the Selma Hayek movie on the life of Frida Kahlo and want to know a bit more, this is a wonderful introduction to her professional life. In fact, the movie and this book complement one another quite nicely, since the movie tended to focus on her personal life.

Andrea Kettenmann's book follows the life of Kahlo and does a great job of explaining the symbolism of Kahlo's work as it pertains to her personal life, her health setbacks and her political beliefs. There are 93 illustrations in this book - most of them are her paintings.She also includes a couple of photographs of Diego Rivera's works that included images of Kahlo.

This is a small book (less than 100 pages), but it packs a whole lot of punch and is very effective as an introduction to this fascinating artist.

Este libro es mi personal favorito
Este libro es un rápido sumario acerca de Frida, en formato "Readers Digest". Lo recomiendo encarecidamente para nuevos fans de Frida o los que ya lo han sido durante un tiempo y solo quieren un resumen sin especulaciones de su vida. Contiene información biográfica breve pero concisa, fotos antiguas en blanco y negro, ilustraciones a todo color y comentarios de sus pinturas. Es un gran y básico libro de referencia. Si solo va a comprar un libro de Frida Kahlo, elija este. No obstante después de leer este libro, lo dejará tan intrigado por la vida y arte de Frida, que querrá leer otros libros. Este libro es mi personal favorito.

TASHEN does it again
After watching the Bio-Pic "Frida" (2002), Director: Julie Taymor, based on the book "Frida : A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera, I decided it wad time to read more of this Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) who married Diego Rivera and was an artist in her own write.

This book, "Frida Kahlo 1907-1954: Pain and Passion" by Andrea Kettenmann, Is a great and informative introduction to Kahlo, her art and the person behind the art. Not to sound shallow but the color reproductions and the photos are worth the purchase price on their own. However knowing what they are trying to portray always ads that extra meaning.

No matter what book or movie you buy this is an added must to your library and a different look at the life and times of Freda.

The Life of a Genius Painter In One Book
"Frida Kahlo 1907-1954: Pain And Passion" travels through her life and turbulances through her many paintings she drew throughout her life.This book is more than just her paintings.The auther shares the story of the inspiration of her every paintings.She shares everything in great detail that is highly accurate to Kahlo's living.Every page shows how Kahlo has inspired a generation of artists ranging beyond painting.It's great that the author wrote this book since many are unaware of Kahlo's work.Her words keep Kahlo's art and her life alive.This book is great for those looking to get inspired and to learn about this genius painter.Those wanting more should also watch the movie "Frida", starring Selma Hayak as Frida Kahlo.

Order this book if you understand Spanish.
This is a beautiful book but unfortunately I can't read it because it is printed in Spanish. Amazon had informed me that the English version is not available so I am returning it. ... Read more

Book Description
"I never painted my dreams, I painted my own reality. " -Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo is one of the most significant artists of the 20th century. Her tragic and dramatic personal life has been the subject of numerous biographies and a major film starring Salma Hayek. In recent years, public interest in Kahlo's life has threatened to eclipse serious consideration of her artistic achievement. This beautifully produced book, which accompanies a major exhibition, presents an enlightening retrospective of her work, refocusing attention on the artistic qualities that have made her paintings some of the most iconic images of the last 100 years.

Presenting major works alongside the lesser-known, and incorporating paintings, drawings, and photographs, the volume offers a thoroughly researched, accessible overview of Kahlo's career, with essays by leading critics and an extensive illustrated glossary that explores key recurring elements in her paintings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A life through portraits
The catalogue for the 2005 Tate exhibition, this book is a complete survey of F.Kahlo's career. Present here are her major portraits (of the Mexican high society as well as of her husband, Diego Rivera) and also her more famous self-portraits. An informative text helps the reader forget all the recent hype surrounding the artist and concentrate on her best legacy: her paintings, many of which are masterpieces of introspection and portraiture.Seeing all the self-portraits, one after the other, makes you understand the artist's life, pains and sorrows, better than any Hollywood mega-production...

a closer look at Frida's work
After seeing the film "Frida" starring Selma Hayek, I wanted to see more of Frida Kahlo's paintings. (I had already been to Mexico City where the guides readily show you Diego Rivera's murals but say nary a word about Frida except when she appears in Diego's works).

I am pleased I chose this beautiful and profusely illustrated coffee-table style book. It holds a place of honour on my bookshelves, its cover-jacket and self-portrait of Frida & her trademark "unibrow" facing the viewer as you walk in the door.

The book was produced to accompany the 2005 Tate Gallery exhibition of Frida Kahlo's work, and is a must-have for anyone wishing to have a closer look at her life and art without the trouble and expense of travelling to Mexico.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Get the Spanish version
This edition is a pretty good overview of Frida's life with some outstanding colorful reproductions of her works. There is also a very satisfying collection of photographs, both in black and white and color, to cure the voyeur in you to see Frida as she really lived. For example, if you enlarge the back cover shot here you can see the cigarette in her left hand that she wasapparentlyusually without. If you thought it was only the pain of her life that resulted in very few photographs of her smiling think again. The results of her heavy smoking habit produced a poor set of teeth that were blackened and not very flaterring; hence the rare smiling picture. The book has some rare photographs, including one of her laughing and her hideous teeth. The text is easy to follow and gives a whirlwind tour of Frida's life, complete with recollections by friends and other anecdotes. Included is a chronology, list of illustrations anda selected bibliography.My big complaint about this book, and it may you serve you if you are able to read Spanish, is that it is a short version of the original. I have run down a copy of the original Spanish book, "Frida: El Pincel de la Angustia" and it is highly recommended over this translated version. I cannot over state this recommendation . This version is almost like an abridged text by comparison. Case in point, the original has nearly four times as many pages! The abundance of pages is not filler either as it has many more photographs, paintings and more importantly, text. If you hunt around you can find the original at an affordable price. All in all this is a good addition, but not edition, to your library on Mexcian Art or personal Frida Kahlo book collection.

Great Introduction to Kahlo's work
This book is recommended for the reproductions of her work.Zamora gives a nice and thoughtful description of the painter's life.I just finished Kate Braverman's fictional account of the life of Kahlo on her last day--and I highly recommend it! The prose alone transforms Kahlo's paintings into a highly intelligent novel, and uses as a catalyst, one of our most important painter's work as an inspirational canvas for one of our most important writers.

excellent biography
I had no idea who Frida was, untill I saw some of her slides in my self portrait class and that led me to read more about her.

This book is an excellent biography of Frida and has an amazing account of her tragic life and how it transformed her personality, not to mention her paintings and especially her self portraits.

The book covers her major art work and the flow of the book is coincided with her life. You can see what was happening at a particular juncture in her life and what kind of work she was producing.

A Good Summary
This is a good book for those people who are interested in a short biography on one of Mexico's most respected and well known icons. Zamora's book not only gives a brief vivd account on Frida's life but alsoillustrates some of her famous work. The one down side I found to this bookis that Zamora does not talk about in more detail some of Frida's paintingswhich are shown like "Four Inhabitants in Mexico City," but allin all this is a good book which I found very interesting.

Great book!
Frida Kahlo is my favorite artist, so of course I love this book. Other reasons I love it: the pictures, which show Frida's exquisite beauty, the paintings (not any I haven't seen, though I still love seeing them), andthe story, which told some things I did not know. Although I really likethis book, it was not very in-depth. I already knew most of the informationthat was in it. ... Read more

Book Description
Frida Kahlo, the writer? In this new expanded edition of the painter's writings, art critic Raquel Tibol gathers letters, poems, notes, protests, confessions, brief messages and longer texts written by Kahlo to her friends, her lovers and others. In her writings, Kahlo employs, in Tibol's words, an "unreserved, imaginative language, heart and intimacy laid bare," that reveals her taste for neologisms, colloquial turns and the crossing of linguistic boundaries. The freedom of her language is a path towards sincerity, the origin of Kahlo's pictorial universe, with its recurring motifs: the tramway accident that left the artist physically maimed at the age of 18; her anguished and demanding adolescent passion for Alejandro Gomez Arias; her complex and fascinating relationship with Diego Rivera; her illness as destiny; her political engagements; and her uncompromising quest for liberty. Here the reader will find Kahlo "swinging back and forth between sincerity and manipulation, self-complacency and self-flagellation, with her insatiable need for affection, her erotic upheavals, her touches of humor, setting no limits for herself, with a capacity for self-analysis and a deep humility." By gathering this material, until now scattered in archives and various published sources, Tibol offers us "a tacit autobiography and the placement of Frida within the intimate, confessional literature of the twentieth century in Mexico." This is a Frida Kahlo far removed from the distorted image so often found in films, plays and supposedly serious writings and studies--a beautiful book about Frida, by Frida. ... Read more

Book Description
A magnificent visual book in full color with over 150 photos and notes about the making of the major feature film by the award-winning director (The Lion King, Titus) about one of the most famous artists and feminists in the twentieth century, starring Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina, coming from Miramax Films.

This is the true story of Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera, the larger-than-life painters who became the most acclaimed artists in Mexican history and whose tempestuous love affair, landmark journeys to America, and outrageous personalities made them legendary. Filmed mainly in Mexico, the movie traces Frida's life from her unbridled high school days to her death at age 47.

This vivid book includes production notes, details on cinematography, set and costume design, and visual effects, music, notes by director Taymor, interviews with the cast, excerpts from books about Frida, reproductions of artwork, a historical timeline, and background sketches on the real figures portrayed in the movie. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Beautiful Book with Invaluable Content
Of all of Newmarket's wonderful series of Pictorial Moviebooks, this one is my favorite.The sidebars identifying many of the "real people" who appear in the film are helpful, but the best part is the side-by-side comparison of the paintings & the moments in Frida's life which inspired them.The wedding sequence is especially illuminating: the scene from the shooting script, the stills of Frida [Salma Hayek] examining herself in the mirror in her lace wedding gown, & the picture of the actual wedding painting all combine to reveal Frida's essential self-invention.

If you loved this film, you will definitely want THIS book which supplements BOTH the film & the Herrera biography.

A must for anyone who loved the moive
This book is a visual feast! Great photos and stories
behind the making of the moive...
A must for anyone who loved the moive .

Butno mention or photo ofLila Downs???
Did I miss it??

Her fabulous singing is a vitual part of the film!!
I still gave the books five stars....but what gives??

Fun to simply page through
Enhanced with an informative Foreword by Kayden Herrera and with introductions by Julie Taymor and Salma Hayek, Frida: Bringing Frida Kahlo's Life And Art To Film is a superb companion title to Julie Taymor's electrifying and artistic movie "Frida", showcasing the true story of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, the Mexican painters whose acclaimed work and passionate love affair distinguished them during the twentieth century. Featuring full-color photographs on virtually every page which illustrate the screenplay text, as well as interviews with cast and crew members and production notes, Frida is fun to simply page through, a highly recommended addition to academic film libraries, and is a "must-have" acquisition for admirers of the movie celebrating one of the twentieth-century's most remarkable female artists. ... Read more

Book Description
They met in 1928, Frida Kahlo was then 21 years old and DiegoRivera was twice her age. He was already an international reference, sheonly aspired to become one. An intense artistic creation, along with pain and suffering, was generatedby this tormented union, in particular for Frida. Constantly in the shadowof her husband, bearing his unfaithfulness and her jealousy, Fridaexorcised the pain on canvas, and won progressively the public's interest.On both continents, America and Europe, these commited artists proclaimedtheir freedom and left behind them the traces of their exceptional talent. In this book, Gerry Souter brings together both biographies and underlineswith passion the link which existed between the two greatest mexicanartists of the 20th century. ... Read more

Book Description
Presents a biography of Frida Kahlo ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Frida Kahlo (getting to know the world's greates artiists)
All the Mike Venezia books are abfab. I read them to all of my classes K-7.The cartoons are great.The story keeps everybody's attention.They are informative and give a clear picture of the artists.Would recomend all of them ... Read more

Book Description
This book is a biography about Frida Kahlo, artist and wife of the famous Diego Rivera. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Suitably complex
Too many biographies fall at one of two extremes: either hagiography or pedestal-smashing. Jack Rummel's account of Frida Kahlo's life is instead a nuanced one, with an obstinate refusal to over-simplify. Rummel makes clear that Kahlo was neither saint nor passive victim, but instead a visionary artist compromised by an acute capacity for self-deception.

The convoluted paths of Kahlo's life are brought into sharp focus by Rummel's concise but illuminating narrative. Whether treating of Kahlo's finances or the intricacies of her art, the author knows how to turn the basic facts into a convincing story.

Only the most deranged and prejudiced reader could dismiss Rummel's book on the withered grounds that it doesn't conform to some political agenda. Instead, this thin volume is packed with the suitable complexity of an uncategorizable life.

worst biography ever
This book was absolutely horrible. This is the most ignorant biography I've ever read. Rummel is constantly criticizing every aspect of her that doesn't agree with traditional american values. Every time the communist party comes up in the book, Rummel inserts some incredibly ignorant and stupid anti-communist comment. There are so many interesting and well written books about this amazing woman's life, don't read this one.

Good Reading
As a fan of this great painter i already knew the major things about her life but this book goes deep into the mysterious world of Frida Kahlo. I find it expressing Frida as she would like to have been remembered this isa must read for the art lovers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Kahlo Biography and Illustrations of Her Paintings
The first 38 pages of this oversized book are devoted to a biography of Frida Kahlo's life and a discussion of some of her most famous paintings. Several vintage color and black & white photos are also included in this section. The remaining pages of this book are the plates...large full page images of her paintings reporduced in full color and detail...some of the best quality reproductions I've seen. Each painting is titled and dated, the medium used and the current whereabouts of the original piece.

Good starter for Frida Kahlo students
Salomon Grimberg's compilation of Frida Kahlo's book is an ideal place for those who saw the movie-bio starring Salma Hayek.Apart from the art, there's a written text of her life that gives one insight into her life and what aspects the movie emphasized or omitted.There are also black & white and colour photographs of her as well.

She mostly did self-portraits, and looking through them, I see more and more that Hayek was the best choice to play Kahlo.Many of the paintings realized and duplicated in the movie appear here.The Two Fridas, one wearing the white dress, the other a blue dress, with a blood vessel connecting the two, are included, as is her stark representation of the miscarriage which in the movie, causes Diego to weep.

The title of each painted, the medium used, e.g. oil on canvas, the year painted, and the current whereabouts of the original are listed on each page.

Many of them are simple but brutal, others demonstrated the cathartic release of the pain she felt, whether it was the lifelong spinal injury gained from the train accident in 1925, to her divorce from husband and artist Diego Rivera.The main reason for her painting was to compensate for the inadequacies she felt, i.e. her shorter right leg and her spinal condition.The Broken Column, which is a cutaway picture of her with a fractured Greek column representing her spine and nails hammered into her body, sums up her pain very well.

As for painting other people, the portrait of her sister Cristina, her husband Diego, and Lupita and Mariana Morillo are simply stunning.

She's remembered as the best known female painter ever, whether it be for her surrealist pictures, the Mexican culture embodied in her paintings, and how she was able to project her feelings through her art, stark, brutal, and poignant.After this volume, a next possible step are the books by Hayden Herrera that served as the basis for the film, which is the route I'm taking. ... Read more