Frida Kahlo in Bologna

 

Frida Kahlo picture

An exhibition dedicated to the beloved Mexican artist after closing the exhibition dedicated to Barbie will be open until March 2017 in  Palazzo Albergati by The Athemisia's organisation.

Not only Kahlo and Rivera, but also RufinoTamayo, María Izquierdo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Ángel Zárraga: all the Mexican art protagonists of the twentieth century will be presented.

Some facts about:Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is remembered for her self-portraits, pain and passion, and bold, vibrant colors. She is celebrated in Mexico for her attention to Mexican and indigenous culture and by feminists for her depiction of the female experience and form. 

The Roots

Kahlo, who suffered from polio as a child, nearly died in a bus accident as a teenager. She suffered multiple fractures of her spine, collarbone and ribs, a shattered pelvis, broken foot and dislocated shoulder. She began to focus heavily on painting while recovering in a body cast. In her lifetime, she had 30 operations. 

The Broken Column

Life experience is a common theme in Kahlo's approximately 200 paintings, sketches and drawings. Her physical and emotional pain are depicted starkly on canvases, as is her turbulent relationship with her husband, fellow artist Diego Rivera, who she married twice. Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits. 


The devastation to her body from the bus accident is shown in stark detail in The Broken Column. Kahlo is depicted nearly naked, split down the middle, with her spine presented as a broken decorative column. Her skin is dotted with nails. She is also fitted with a surgical brace (From Kahlos' web site)

The Gelman Collection was founded in 1941 when Jacques and Natasha Gelman Zahalkaha, two immigrants from Eastern Europe, get married in Mexico City: Jacques was a Russian jew of St. Petersburg, who emigrated to France after the October Revolution in 1938 and arrived in Mexico, where he made his fortune producing comedy films of Mario Moreno, the Mexican Charlie Chaplin. 

Self portrait

In 1943 Jacques commissioned Diego Rivera portrait of Natasha: the meeting with Diego and Frida Kahlo is the beginning of a great adventure collecting, that Natasha will continue with other purchases even after her husband's death, which took place in Houston (1986). 

The paintings in their collection formed two distinct areas: a section dedicated to the great European artists of the twentieth century, whose works are now in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Another core remained in Mexico, the Vergel Foundation, and consists works by Mexican painters María Izquierdo, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Rufino Tamayo Ángel Zárraga.

Where:
Bologna
Palazzo Albergati
Via Zaragoza, 28

When:
To 03/26/2017
Every day from 10.00 to 20.00 (ticket office closes one hour earlier)

Key words: Bologna, Palazzo Albergati, Frida Khalo,The Gelman Collection, art.