Anatomy of an Artwork #1: Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas (1939)

Some paintings come before words.

Frida’s “The Two Fridas” is a double portrait of a self split by heartbreak. The painting is an anatomy of a woman’s inner war.

And its heart has been left exposed so that we can witness that war.

What Do We See at First Glance?

What Do the Heart, Vein and Scissors Tell Us?

The heart of the Frida in Tehuana dress is intact, and she holds an amulet containing a childhood photograph of Diego Rivera. The other Frida’s heart is exposed; her vein has been cut with the scissors in her hand, and the bleeding stains her dress.

On the one hand, this symbolises the end of her relationship with Diego; on the other, the emotional pain of the children she lost through miscarriage.

What Does the Clothing Say About Identity?

The clothing reflects Frida’s conflict of identity.

The Tehuana Frida is the Frida whom Diego Rivera loved: strong, attached to her roots, indigenous Mexican. The European Frida is perhaps the rejected side, the one left alone.

The two figures are like a visualisation of a self shattered by the end of a love.

What Do the Colours and Background Evoke?

The grey-blue sky creates the feeling of a stormy atmosphere.

The dominant white and red of the work evoke the border between death and life. The blood dripping onto the European Frida’s dress stains purity and innocence. The whole composition is like an outward reflection of a melancholic inner world.