Famous and unknown paintings, hundreds of personal photos, letters and diaries, renowned outfits — an online exhibition dedicated to the famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has been launched on the free online platform Google Arts & Culture.
Amid preparations for this grandiose virtual exhibition, Google employees have brought on to the project 33 museums spanning seven countries. Modern technologies allow expanding expositions to unprecedented scales: the project Faces of Frida introduces viewers to more than 800 paintings and artifacts.
Self-portrait with small monkey
1945, 41.5×56 cm
The author of the project, Frances Borzello, believes that the exhibition Faces of Frida will make it possible to get to know more about the artist’s work and sources of her inspiration, to better understand Frida’s relationship with her own pained body, which she depicted in her paintings. As for her life and art, Kahlo was sincere in both, hiding neither personal dramas nor political views.
Frida and the cesarean section (work in progress)
1931, 62×73 cm
Many of the paintings presented in the project have been intentionally digitized in high resolution, so that they can be viewed in exquisite detail. An additional option for those who are interested in the technique of drawing or like to look carefully at every detail of the painting.
Frida Kahlo. Frida and the Cesarean (detail), 1931
Without hope
1945, 28×36 cm
Frida Kahlo's art is very personal and very symbolic. Suffering for many years from the consequences of a car accident, the artist expressed her thoughts, beliefs and feelings not only in her own paintings, but also in jewellery and clothing. Her numerous self-portraits have become the focus of personal drama — be it Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair after the divorce from her husband, or identifying herself with Mexico, her beloved homeland that had suffered from political strife.
Roots
1943, 30.5×49.9 cm
Sun and life
1947, 40×50 cm
Photo: Ann Lennox and Salma Hayek, who played Frida in the film, at an event in honour of Frida Kahlo’s intimate belongings going on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum. June 2018. Photo source: www.justjared.com
It should be pointed out that in the summer of 2018, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum present an exhibition "Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up". In the exposition there’s a collection of authentic artifacts and clothing belonging to a cult Mexican artist. All the items presented at the exhibition have been locked away for 50 years after Frida Kahlo’s death. Being presented in Mexico after that period, they had never left the country before.
Fruits of life
1953
Frida Kahlo didn’t get classical art education. Brushes and paints (the mother’s gift to her bedridden, worn out with suffering daughter) and a mirror (!) became the starting point for the transformation of personal experiences of a young woman who wanted to escape from illness to a happy, eventful life. Having made her art maximally personal, Frida Kahlo, nevertheless, managed to bring deep poetry and historical allusions into it. Her own faces became something greater than simple portraits, giving the viewer an infinite variety of images.
The documentary section is represented by a large number of rare photographs, including the childhood ones. Frida Kahlo was very open and didn’t hesitate to show herself naked — be it paintings or photographs.
A young artist Alexa Meade transformed Mexican musician Ely Guerra into a piece of "living art," created specially for Google Arts & Culture project. Below you can see the video with a detailed story about this creative experiment, conducted under the guidance of a photographer Cristina Kahlo — Frida’s grand-niece.
A special section of the virtual exposition is dedicated to the details of the works, carefully painted by Frida Kahlo. Drawings and sketches that Frida would often make on the reverse of her paintings are another unknown page of the artist’s work, which the creators of Faces of Frida generously share with the viewer. Those wishing to visit the iconic places associated with the artist can take one of five virtual tours, using Google Street View. You can visit the virtual exhibition dedicated to Frida Kahlo on Google Arts & Culture, or download the app on either Android or iOS.
My babysitter and I
1937, 30.5×37 cm
Based on the materials of the exhibition Faces of Frida of the online platform Google Arts & Culture. Title illustration: Frida Kahlo. Photo from the 1950s. Photographer — Florence Arquin. Source: The Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
