The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait

Front Cover
Harry N. Abrams, Aug 9, 2005 - Art - 296 pages
An intimate self-portrait of one of the most renowned Mexican artists of the twentieth century, The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait is "a visual document, engaging the eye with a volcanic profusion of penned-and-painted imagery" (New York Times).

Published in its entirety, Frida Kahlo's amazing, illustrated journal documents the last 10 years of her turbulent life. These passionate, often surprising, intimate records, kept under lock and key for some 40 years in Mexico, reveal many new dimensions in the complex personal life of this remarkable artist.

The 170-page journal contains the artist's thoughts, poems, and dreams--many reflecting her stormy relationship with her husband, artist Diego Rivera--along with 70 mesmerizing watercolor illustrations. Her views of love, politics, and more come into sharp focus in a kaleidoscope of creativity and thought.

In his introduction, award-winner Carlos Fuentes, one of Mexico's most important writers and critics, ties Kahlo's images of pain, loss, mutilation, and transcendence to Mexico's historic cycles of revolution and reaction. Sprinkled with irony, black humor, even gaiety, and augmented with translations of the diary entries plus commentaries and photographs, her diary stands as a reminder of not only Kahlo's formidable talent, but also her resilience and courage.

The text entries, written in Frida's round, full script in brightly colored inks, make the journal as captivating to look at as it is to read. Her writing reveals the artist's political sensibilities, recollections of her childhood, and her enormous courage in the face of more than 35 operations to correct injuries she had sustained in an accident at the age of 18.

This intimate portal into her life is sure to fascinate fans of the artist, art historians, and women's culturalists alike.

Other editions - View all

About the author (2005)

Carlos Fuentes was born in Panama on November 11, 1928. He studied law at the National University of Mexico and did graduate work at the Institute des Hautes Etudes in Switzerland. He entered Mexico's diplomatic service and wrote in his spare time. His first novel, Where the Air Is Clear, was published in 1958. His other works include The Death of Artemio Cruz, Destiny and Desire, and Vlad. The Old Gringo was later adapted as a film starring Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda in 1989. He won numerous awards including the Fuentes the Romulo Gallegos Prize in Venezuela for Terra Nostra, the National Order of Merit in France, the Cervantes Prize in 1987, and Spain's Prince of Asturias Award for literature in 1994. He also wrote essays, short stories, screenplays, and political nonfiction. In addition to writing, he taught at numerous universities, including Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and Brown. He served as the ambassador of Mexico to France. He died on May 15, 2012 at the age of 83.

Bibliographic information