The retrospective that had feted Frida Kahlo\’s centennial year

June 13, On This Day

14 years ago, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City…

Mexican painter Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón, widely known as Frida Kahlo, is a distinctive name and face in the art world, known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Born in July 1907, her birth centennial was celebrated in 2007.

It is this year, on June 13, 2007 (around 14 years ago today), that the first large scale exhibition of her works was held at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

Over 350 pieces went on display, including 50 letters written by Kahlo, more than 100 photos of the artist and a collection of paintings being shown for the first time, including her most famous self-portraits, lesser-known self-portraits, still lifes, portraits, drawings and watercolors.

Her frank depiction of a woman’s psychic pain made her a feminist icon, and her confessional painting style starkly told the story of her physical suffering and emotional isolation.

Kahlo died at 47 after her leg was amputated below the knee (she had contracted polio as a child), and her state funeral took place at the same Bellas Artes.