Frida Kahlo

 

 

I don't really collect dolls, but I do like them.  If I happen to see a doll that speaks to me on some level, chances are I'll buy it.

Frida spoke to me in such a way.

Some years ago, there was an article in the Smithsonian magazine about Frida Kahlo, the wonderful surrealist painter from Mexico.  I grew interested.

Later on, I saw the movie, Frida, with Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina.  Hayek was wonderful in the part, I thought.  Molina?  I think he's one of the most underrated actors around.  I recently watched Prick Up Your Ears with Molina and Gary Oldman, which reminded me how talented he is.

Then I saw a PBS biography of Frida Kahlo.  Very interesting, too.  It really filled in the gaps, and the old photos and film clips were wonderful, of course.

Do you see the tag on the doll's shawl?  It says "Brainy Beanie Doll" in tiny letters at the bottom.

Inside, there is a picture of Frida and her birth (July 6, 1907) and death (July 13, 1954) dates.

Then a quote:

"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone.  Because I am the subject I know best."

And a brief biographical blurb:

Frida had a deep sense of political independence, passion and sensuality.  Her life was marked by physical suffering:  she contracted polio at the age of 5, and at 18 she was in a bus accident which caused severe injuries.  Due to this, many of her works were painted while lying in bed.  She had a great love:  Diego Rivera (she married him twice!) and many lovers, such as Leon Trotsky and Andre Breton's wife . . .

Ha ha ha!  I wonder how the Little Thinkers' parents explain some of those interesting tid-bits?

Don't you think all dolls should come with biographical sketches?

 

Russian Barbie's life was marked by severely deformed feet, with unnatural arches, and atrophied calf muscles.  Tortured for years in the Tsar's prison camps, Russian Barbie was left unable to raise her arms above her shoulders.  Her look of perpetual surprise was caused by the tightly-secured, heavy braid of hair, and exacerbated by the rubber band which kept her kokoshnik in place.  Russian Barbie was unhappily married for a time to Pavel "Pasha" Antipov (aka Strelnikov).  She also had a series of lovers, including Viktor Komarovsky and Dr. Zhivago.  She was a home-wrecker and bore the child of a man who was not her husband.