Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were art “rock stars” before there was Rock. Frida, first only seen as “the wife of Rivera,” became one of the most famous women painters in history. She was so very artful that her style of dress has become almost as famous as her paintings. Rivera, the most famous of the Mexican muralistas, influenced the painting of artists in the U.S. when he came to paint here in the 1930s. While most of Kahlo’s paintings were small, some being little ex-voto paintings recording her survival of all the physical suffering she endured, Rivera also could do easel painting. Of the most interesting subjects that they both treated were watermelons. Seemingly an “odd” choice, watermelons were the subject of the last painting that each of them did. This calls for a dive into the story of their lives and their work, as well as a look into Mexican culture.
The Kahlo-Rivera Dilemma: Can’t Live With; Can’t Live Without.
Kahlo spent the early part of her marriage to Rivera simply being “Mrs. Rivera,” as she traveled with her husband from one place where he was painting to another (see “Frida Kahlo: Accidents and Identity” vernellestudio.com). The painting above was done in 1933, as she traveled with Rivera, and shows what must have been a complete cacaphony of images, events, sounds, and culturally overwhelming experiences. Yet, when we look at the images of trash piles, burning edifaces, skyscrapers, smokestacks, and the woman in the red dress, front and center is Kahlo’s signature Tejuana shirt and huipil top. She made herself stand out as a way of confronting being an outsider. Notably she hangs the dress on a purple ribbon that is tied to a toilet on one side and a trophy on the other. Perhaps this is how she saw her function as wife to Rivera, an arm- candy trophy on one hand (she was very well educated, beautiful, and stunningly perceptive) and on the other hand, a maid/cleaning lady, hence the toilet. However, she kept painting and ultimately was recognized as an accomplished and fearless painter in her own right. One of her most commonly used subjects was herself in self-portraits that represented her emotional life.
Kahlo summed up her life by saying, “There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the trolly. The other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst.” Having suffered from polio as a child, at 18 she was involved in a trolley accident which injured her body so terribly, she was bedridden for months and suffered numerous operations thereafter. She began to paint at that time, and her subject was herself (see the reference articles below for her biographical details). As her own career developed, in the late 1930s she was called a surrealist. Kahlo famously said that she became a surrealist when André Breton came from France to Mexico to tell her that was what she was. In her mind, she just painted reality, physical and emotional.
As Kahlo began to become at least known, Rivera was riding high, painting murals in the U.S. such as the Detroit Industrial Murals, 27 panels showing industry. Painted for Ford Motor Company and now in the Detroit Institute of Art, they were deemed a National Historic Landmark in 2014. His most infamous painting for industry came in 1933 when he painted Man At The Crossroads for the Rockefeller Center in New York City. The Rockefellers approved of his idea of contrasting capitalism with communism, but when the press began to criticize, Rivera replied by adding in a May Day Parade for International Workers’ Day and a portrait of Lenin. Nelson Rockefeller asked for the Lenin portrait to be taken out; Rivera, a life-long communist, refused, so Rockfeller had the work plastered over. Rivera took photos before that was done so that he might recreate a smaller version now on display in Mexico’s Palacio de Bellas Artes. Of course, one of his greatest works is the Dream of Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park in the Museo Mural in Mexico City (see the previous post for more on that work).
While Rivera was painting massive panels on epic subjects, he was also having affairs, including one with Frida’s sister. Frida responded with affairs of her own. Such things led to the break-up of the marriage in 1939. However, in 1940, the Frida-Diego relationship reunited in a second marriage, but with certain rules, including no sex between the two of them. Diego was free to have his dalliances and Frida went on to a 10-year relationship with photographer Nickolas Muray. The couple lived in two different houses, though Frida sometimes would reside with Diego. Most of the time she stayed in her family home, La Casa Azul, in the Coyoacan neighborhood of Mexico City. The relationship remained tumultuous, yet the couple was very much moored to one another.
Frida suffered more from the bad health brought on by that accident in her youth, losing her right foot and then her right leg up to the knee in the last years before her death. Her solo exhibition in Mexico City came at a time (1954) when the only way she could attend was to be bedridden, but yes, she was there in bed in the gallery, greeting guests while lying on her back. She died that same year from either a pulmonary embollism or from an overdose of medication, whether accidental or intentional, it is not known. Diego died three years later and left instructions that all of Frida’s possessions should be locked in unused rooms in La Casa Azul for 50 years.
And now the watermelons
It is easy to pass by the painting of watermelons painted by Frida, called Viva La Vida (Long Life Live), and wonder what the fascination with this fruit was. Certainly it is common in Mexico, and the main ingredient in a refreshing drink called Agua de sandía (here’s a link to a recipe for that wonderful drink foodnetwork.com.) We can all imagine a hot day where one of the great pleasures of life is taking a bite of a chilled slice of sweet watermelon. In the Mexican folklore tradition of the Day of the Dead, the skeletons dressed in clothing are often seen eating and drinking. One of the favorite images is of a skeleton eating a slice of watermelon. Perhaps there is no better image for taking a bite out of life, than a big bite of that juicy melon. The whole idea of the Day of the Dead (El dia de los muertos) is not just to remember the family and friends who have passed away, but also to look at the living and our habits, poke fun of them, and understand the irony of life, which is that none of us survive it.
Frida made this painting just 8 days before her death. It seems a grand gesture of her acknowledgement that life, while vibrant and delicious, is also impermanent like this fruit, which is fresh for a while then rots away. This painting with the title that celebrates life, uses the fruit eaten by the specters of the calaveras and catrines (skulls and dressed skeletons) that come out dancing on the Day of the Dead to remind us that they are us and we are them. Considering her own death, Frida said, “I hope the exit is joyful, and I hope never to return.” Her last visual statement was the painting of the watermelons.
Three years later it was Diego’s turn. He had suffered a stroke and was deprived of the use of his right arm. He had been devastated by Frida’s death, but remarried and struggled to paint. Here in a sort of subliminal echo of Frida, his last painting, too, was of watermelons. His watermelons have a life-like texture created by his mixing of sand into his oil paint. The one on the lower right is partially eaten. On the left are ones that seem to have a bit scooped out at the end. Given the difficulty he experienced trying to paint, since “the brush no longer obeyed him” (diegorivera.org), one can only imagine the diligence with which he worked on this last expression, one to match that of Frida’s. Star-crossed, as in the best of Shakespeare’s tragedies, their last communication may have been in the form of these watermelons, a traditional Mexican symbol for life and the thereafter.
One final note: While Rivera is the foremost of the great muralistas, having left a formidable body of grand works, and a name that tops the list of famous Mexican painters, Frida has left some astonishing art objects herself. Once her possessions were unlocked after those 50 years, conservators were able to assemble much of her wardrobe and put it on display. There was a traveling show that left Mexico for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, with an ancillary exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. Her clothing choices, taken from traditional Mexican dress from the region of Tejuantepec, accented by her exception jewelry and hair ornaments have become an art treasure themselves.
Along with the clothing that was so coloful and unique, which she used to express her identity, as well as to cover her many braces and her damaged right leg, is her family home, La Casa Azul, which is now the Frida Kahlo Museum. The rambling house was the creation of her father, a photographer from Germany. However, after his death and when Frida and Diego remarried in 1940, the couple moved in, together for a while, and painted the house cobalt blue, as well as creating a garden which they filled with pre-Columbian art. Though Rivera would create his own home in a different location, he would return to La Casa Azul from time-to-time, just as Frida visited him in his new home. The house now contains the memorabilia of her life there, paintings by both Kahlo and Rivera, photographs and furnishings. It is one of the most visited museums in Mexico City.
Articles used for this post are as follows and images are used in accordance with Fair Use Policy and linked to the appropriate websites:
“Diego and Frida: A Smile in the Middle of the Way” International Photography Hall of Fame, iphf.org
“Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Portrait of a Complex Marriage” by Kelly Grovier, bbc.com
“The Last Painting of Diego Rivera,” jungcurrents.com
“Unlocking the Hidden Life of Frida Kahlo,” by Lindsay Baker, bbc.com
Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com. Her author page is at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.
Wines for Valentine’s: Gifts to Make it Sparkle.
So the big day of romance is coming. Yes, Valentine’s Day is on its way, and there are things you can do to make it extra special. One can always go the easy route and just get a bottle of your special person’s favorite wine. If you add some flowers, even one red rose, you get a Pass Without Honors. However, we all know that a passing grade is just one step up from failing, so let’s look beyond that, shall we?
WINE AND CHOCOLATE
Not unlike Frida and Diego, wine and chocolate can be difficult. While there are sommeliers who simply will not go there, as red wine and chocolate can turn into the Battle of the Tannins, leaving your taste buds exhausted as each tannin-filled bite or sip tries to cancel out the other, it is still possible to make this combination work. Wine Spectator gives the ABCs of how to pair these two (click link above). The main advice is to pair like with like. So if you have a chocolate with a taste of berries to it, pair it with a wine that also has those fruity notes. They go on to list dessert wines that pair well with chocolate. Those of you who follow OfArtandWine already know of Vin Santo, a wine made from trebbiano grapes that are dried on straw or cane mats for four months before fermentation and aging (ofartandwine.com). Vin Santo goes well with chocolates because of its notes of honey and caramel that coordinate well with the sweet of the chocolate.
Estelle Tracy in her article “Five Myths About Pairing Wine and Chocolate” (37chocolates.com) takes on the most common assumptions, like red wine and chocolate are a natural pairing, and its opposite, never pair red wine and dark chocolate. She gives sound advice. Needless to say with all the varieties of red wines and chocolates, there are bound to be some disastrous mismatches. If you really are going to get into chocolates to spice up the wine you give your honey, for sure take a look at this amusing video by Madeline Puckette of Wine Folly. She not only “goes there,” but she returns with valuable information you can use. See “Wine and Chocolate” youtube.com
COME FLY WITH ME…
If you are planning a Grade A evening, with dinner at a special restaurant, make sure to see if they offer flights of wine. A flight of wine is a group of 3-4 different wines that may focus on a certain theme that matches well with the food. If you arrange this, do find out which wines are to be served and find out a bit more about them. The information is good to know and will certainly impress your special date. Restaurants serving flights of wine are not as rare as it might seem, as P.F. Chang’s, for instance, in their quest to develop their wine list, has served flights of wine designed to go with Chinese food. If that sounds interesting, call your local P.F. Chang’s to see if it does this. Or you can be brave and set up your own wine flight to go with that luxurious meal you are going to prepare. For a great guide to the possible combinations, look at the cozymeal.com website or go to winefolly.com, which has “12 Wine Flight Ideas for Beginners.” You will see that you can focus on the varieties of one type of wine, say Chardonnay, or you can compare Old World and New World versions of the same wine, or compare champagne to prosecco. There are lots of manageable possibilities that allow you to create a fun wine flight tasting.
LIVING IN A VIRTUAL WORLD
Now, here is one that can be done in a variety of ways. Yes, you can go to your local wine merchant, select the wines and get the information on each, prepare the meal, and have friends over to celebrate the day. However, and sadly it is a bit too late for this particular special day, you can have virtual wine tastings, where you order the wines in advance and schedule a Zoom session with a sommelier to guide you through the tasting. Never say that the Pandemic was an ill wind that blew no one any good. It has spawned a whole new industry of distance learning for all kinds of subjects, including wine.
One of the companies that has a wide selection of items is InGoodTaste.com, which offers gifts of wine flights, as well as Curated Collections. The Curated Wine Tasting Flights present 6-8 single serving glasses of wine with the appropriate information to guide you through your tasting. However, you also have the possibility of booking a virtual wine tasting in which the wine is ordered several weeks in advance and a Zoom session is scheduled. From there you have only to gather your friends or whomever you wish to share the tasting with, have the wines ready to be tasted and Zoom at the appropriate time. This is definitely something to check out (ingoodtaste.com) .
Sometimes it takes a doctor to get to the heart of a matter. In the case of the effect that the smell of certain wines can have, Dr. Max Lake, a surgeon and winemaker from Australia, found that the scent of some wines mimic the smell of human pheromones. Red wines with their earthy sometimes leathery, musky smell are very like male pheromones, while white wines and sparkling wines, which have yeasty, doughy scents, are reminiscent of female pheromones. The good doctor says, “[t]he mature Cabernet Sauvignon has an essence which is as close to this natural sexual turn-on as one could hope for” (see “Seduction and Vermeer’s Girl with a Wine Glass” on ofartandwine.com). So do take that into consideration as you celebrate this holiday for lovers.
Whichever of these ways you use to celebrate Valentine’s, whether a simple present of wine, a fancy dinner with wine, experiencing a flight of wine, or a wine flight tasting, drink responsibly, and thoroughly enjoy the holiday.
Grosses bises (as the French say, “big kisses”) from Of Art and Wine and Happy Valentine’s Day!
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©marjorie vernelle 2022
COMING SOON: Richard Mayhew: Painted Love Poems For The Earth, plus Black-American Vintners.
Richard Mayhew, who is Black and Native-American, is a painter of landscapes with colors that sing poetic songs of his love for the land, its colors, its shapes, its shadows. His struggles to get the art world to understand his lyrical, abstracted landscapes have been epic, but finally his message has been received well. Mayhew’s struggles have not been unlike those of Black-American vintners, yet they also have their success stories. Come find out about both.