Only a few women artists have entered the canon of art history, and none rose as meteoric as the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907–1954). She fixed her unmistakable face in more than fifty extraordinary self-portraits that have been admired for generations. These works, together with numerous photographs by renowned artists such as Edward Weston, Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, Nickolas Muray, and Martin Munkácsi, made Frida Kahlo an icon of twentieth-century art.

After an accident in her early youth, Frida decided to become a painter. Her marriage to Diego Rivera in 1929 propelled her to the forefront of the art scene, not only in Mexico but also in the United States and Europe. André Breton praised her work and welcomed her into the international circle of the Surrealists. In 1939 he exhibited her work in Paris, where Picasso, Kandinsky, and Duchamp admired it.

WHY WE PICKED IT
This large-format XXL volume offers the chance to get closer to Frida Kahlo’s paintings than ever before, through brilliant reproductions, in formats that in some cases exceed the size of the original works, and in dialogue with famous photographs. The book presents works from private collections that are difficult for the broader public to access, and shows paintings that were long thought lost or have not been exhibited for more than 80 years. It is the most extensive study of Frida Kahlo’s paintings to date.

Drawings, diary pages, letters, and a richly illustrated biography with photos of Frida, Diego, and the Casa Azul, Frida’s home, provide an intimate view into Frida Kahlo’s life and her artistic universe.

DETAILS • Author: Luis-Martín Lozano • Publisher: Taschen • Format: Hardcover