conflicts between the indigenous people and
the Spanish colonizers. Rivera included por-
traits of important figures in Mexican history
and, in particular, in the struggle for Mexican
independence. Although complex, the decora-
tive, animated murals retain the legibility of
folklore, and the figures consist of simple mon-
umental shapes and areas of bold color.
FRIDA KAHLOBorn to a Mexican mother
and German father, the painter Frida Kahlo
(1907–1954), who married Diego Rivera, used
the details of her life as powerful symbols for
the psychological pain of human existence. Art
historians often consider Kahlo a Surrealist due
to the psychic and autobiographical issues she
dealt with in her art. Indeed, André Breton deemed her a Natural
Surrealist, although Kahlo herself rejected any association with Sur-
realism. Kahlo began painting seriously as a young student, during
convalescence from an accident that tragically left her in constant
pain. Her life became a heroic and tumultuous battle for survival
against illness and stormy personal relationships.
Typical of her long series of unflinching self-portraits isThe
Two Fridas (FIG. 35-69), one of the few large-scale canvases Kahlo
ever produced. The twin figures sit side by side on a low bench in a
barren landscape under a stormy sky. The figures suggest different
sides of the artist’s personality, inextricably linked by the clasped
hands and by the thin artery that stretches between them, joining
their exposed hearts. The artery ends on one side in surgical forceps
and on the other in a miniature portrait of her husband as a child.
Her deeply personal paintings touch sensual and psychological
memories in her audience.
However, to read Kahlo’s paintings solely as autobiographical
overlooks the powerful political dimension of her art. Kahlo was
deeply nationalistic and committed to her Mexican heritage. Politi-
cally active, she joined the Communist Party in 1920 and participated
in public political protests.The Two Fridas incorporates Kahlo’s com-
mentary on the struggle facing Mexicans in the early 20th century in
defining their national cultural identity. The Frida on the right (rep-
resenting indigenous culture) appears in a Tehuana dress, the tradi-
tional costume of Zapotec women from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,
whereas the Frida on the left (representing imperialist forces) wears a
European-style white lace dress. The heart, depicted here in such dra-
matic fashion, was an important symbol in the art of the Aztecs,
whom Mexican nationalists idealized as the last independent rulers of
an indigenous political unit. Thus,The Two Fridas represents both
Kahlo’s personal struggles and the struggles of her homeland.
Architecture
The first half of the 20th century was a time of great innovation in
architecture too. As in painting, sculpture, and photography, new
ideas came from both sides of the Atlantic.Europe
In the years immediately following the Russian Revolution, a new art
movement called Productivismemerged in the Soviet Union as an
offshoot of the Constructivist movement. The Productivists devoted
their talents to designing a better environment for human beings.VLADIMIR TATLIN One of the most gifted leaders of the Pro-
ductivism movement was Vladimir Tatlin(1885–1953). The revolu-
tion was the signal to Tatlin and other avant-garde artists in Russia that
the hated old order was about to end. In utopian fashion, these artists
aspired to play a significant role in creating a new world, one that
would fully use the power of industrialization to benefit all the people.
Initially, like Malevich (FIG. 35-54) and Gabo (FIG. 35-55), Tatlin be-
lieved that nonobjective art was ideal for the new society, free as such
art was from any past symbolism. But after the 1917 revolution, Tatlin
enthusiastically abandoned abstract art for “functional art” by design-
ing products such as an efficient stove and a set of worker’s clothing.
Tatlin’s most famous work is his design for Monument to the
Third International (FIG. 35-70), commissioned by the Department
of Artistic Work of the People’s Commissariat for Enlightenment
early in 1919 to honor the Russian Revolution. He envisioned a huge
glass-and-iron building that—at 1,300 feet—would have been one-
third taller than the Eiffel Tower (FIG. 31-1). Widely influential,
“Tatlin’s Tower,” as it became known, served as a model for those
seeking to encourage socially committed and functional art. On its960 Chapter 35 EUROPE AND AMERICA, 1900 TO 194535-69Frida Kahlo,The Two Fridas,1939.
Oil on canvas, 5 7 5 7 . Museo de Arte
Moderno, Mexico City.
Kahlo’s deeply personal paintings touch sensual
and psychological memories in her audience.
Here, twin self-portraits linked by clasped hands
and a common artery suggest different sides of
her personality.
1 ft.