A Biographical Analysis of The Broken Column by Frida Kahlo.

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist born in 1907[1] who completed hundreds of paintings during her life time, including several self-portraits[2] such as The Broken Column, which this essay intends to focus on. The Broken Column (fig. 1) was painted by Kahlo in 1944 with oil on masonite[3] and shows Kahlo as wearing a type of harness and being almost cut in half by a broken column which is meant to represent her spine and is seen by the viewer instead of being inside her body. Kahlo has also painted herself as naked and being pricked by nails as they stick out of her body and face. In this essay, I will analyse this painting from a biographical standpoint and aim to conclude on whether the artwork can make sense and be impactful without the context surrounding it.

Kahlo, after suffering from polio and permanently changed by this, was in a serious bus accident as a young woman and left physically damaged for the rest of her life[4]. She spent her time in body casts, steel corsets and long skirts to help as well as hide her disability and the long-term effects of her illness and accident. In addition, Kahlo had a turbulent relationship with her husband, Diego Rivera[5] and struggled to have children[6], subjects that appear in her work often. Examples of this are her paintings, Roots, Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair and The Two Fridas. Knowing this and viewing her work, it seems that Kahlo channelled her personal life into her work quite a lot and represented who she was and what she had gone through by painting. This may then suggest that perhaps it would be difficult to separate Kahlo’s life from her work and vice versa as it might be hard to get an emotional response or understanding of her motives and the meaning behind the work without knowledge of her situation.

Looking at the components of The Broken Column and how Kahlo has chosen to represent herself, it appears that the different parts relate almost directly to aspects of her life and struggles. The nails that are penetrating her skin, could be a metaphor for her near-constant pain that she felt over her body as a result of her injuries, the steel corset, a very real aspect of her life and something she did have to wear upon instruction from doctors. The white markings around her eyes may be interpreted as tears from pain are contradictory to her blank and stony expression, perhaps a representation of the strength she showed people despite the pain she experienced. It could be argued that this is effective because of the knowledge of Kahlo’s history as these inferences are made with the biographical knowledge people have aiding them to come to these conclusions. As Gannit Ankori says, the painting ‘strip[s] away the façade to expose Kahlo’s broken body, medical apparatus and internal wounds’[7], showing how people who are aware of Kahlo’s past can interpret the image in this way and understand what the image intends to do.

On the other hand, speaking from my experience, when I first saw the painting, I knew very little of Kahlo’s life. Although I knew of Kahlo as an artist, her as a person and what she went through was not something I was aware of. Regardless of this, I feel I could have an appreciation of the painting as a work of art and could make assumptions and links to what it may have been suggesting from the powerful and blatant imagery used. In this case, the artist and her work was very much separated for me as I did not need to know much about Kahlo’s life to appreciate and have a reaction to the painting. Although I cannot speak for everyone, this shows how perhaps it is possible to separate this piece of work from Kahlo as a person and still see the image as powerful and making a statement regardless of knowing the biography of the artist.

A biographical approach to analysing this image was appropriate since her life and struggles impact and appear in her work often, so it is reasonable to look at this piece from a standpoint that would reflect and incorporate such themes. This is also done instead of analysing the image using a different approach, such as a psychoanalytic one. As a posting from a website dedicated to Kahlo suggests, the phallic-shaped column that replaces her spine in the painting and her lack of clothes/coverage suggest a sexual aspect to the painting[8]. This is something that could be explained by the psychoanalytical approach to exploring art as it talks in some detail about the connotations of and reasons for the inclusion of sexual imagery in works of art. However, in this piece, it does not appear to be the dominating factor or motive behind the work and so it seems inappropriate.

In conclusion, The Broken Pillar can be described as a depiction of Kahlo’s inner and outer struggles and suffering and a true, yet surreal portrayal of how she sees herself and her reality. This is easily inferred by those who know of Kahlo and her life as they can make assumptions that others may not and see the painting through the eyes of someone more informed. This makes the piece powerful and effective as a work of art as it is something the viewer can react to and have an emotional response towards, such is the purpose of many pieces produced by artists. However, I would argue that the image is just as effective without knowledge of Kahlo’s life and so you are able to separate Kahlo and her work in this sense and still be able to appreciate it as something impactful. This could be due to the strong imagery used that would lead anyone to have a reaction to it, or the implied narrative it creates with being a striking but dark self portrait of a fairly well-known artist.

Bibliography

“Biography of Frida Kahlo”, Frida Kahlo: The Complete Works, Frida Kahlo Foundation [n.d.]. Web. 21st Jan. 2019. https://www.frida-kahlo-foundation.org/biography.html

“The Broken Column, 1944 by Frida Kahlo”, Frida Kahlo: Paintings, Biographies and Quotes, Private Website [n.d.]. Web. 21st Jan. 2019. https://www.fridakahlo.org/the-broken-column.jsp#prettyPhoto

“Frida Kahlo and her Paintings”, Frida Kahlo: Paintings, Biographies and Quotes, Private Website [n.d.]. Web. 21st Jan. 2019. https://www.fridakahlo.org/

“Frida Kahlo Biography”, Frida Kahlo: Paintings, Biographies and Quotes, Private Website [n.d.]. Web. 21st. Jan. 2019. https://www.fridakahlo.org/frida-kahlo-biography.jsp

Gannit Ankori, Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up. London: V&A Publishing, 2018. Print

Illustrations

Figure 1 – Frida Kahlo, The Broken Column, c. 1944, oil on masonite, Museo Dolores Olmedo Patino, Mexico City, Mexico. Bridgeman Images.

[1] “Biography of Frida Kahlo”, Frida Kahlo: The Complete Works, Frida Kahlo Foundation [n.d.] [2] “Frida Kahlo and her Paintings”, Frida Kahlo: Paintings, Biographies and Quotes, Private Website [n.d.] [3] “Room 11, Achieving Equilibrium”, Tate: Frida Kahlo Room Guide, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport [n.d.] [4] “Frida Kahlo Biography”, Frida Kahlo: Paintings, Biographies and Quotes, Private Website [n.d.] [5] “Biography of Frida Kahlo” [6] “Frida Kahlo Biography” [7] Ankori, Gannit. Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up. (London: V&A Publishing, 2018) 152. [8] “The Broken Column, 1944 by Frida Kahlo”, Frida Kahlo: Paintings, Biographies and Quotes, Private Website [n.d.]