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Why are the hearts exposed in The Two Fridas?
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Frida Kahlo
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo painting a portrait of Jean Wight in 1931; the work depicts the wife of artist Clifford Wight, who assisted Diego Rivera, Kahlo's husband, when he was painting a number of murals throughout the United States.
In The Two Fridas, the exposed hearts serve as a visceral representation of Frida Kahlo’s emotional turmoil during her 1939 divorce from Diego Rivera.12
The two figures represent conflicting identities within the artist, and their hearts are used to illustrate her complex relationship with Rivera:
- The Tehuana-clad Frida: Her heart is intact and healthy, representing the version of Kahlo that Rivera loved. A blood vessel connects this heart to a miniature portrait of Rivera held in her hand.12
- The European-dressed Frida: Her heart is wounded and stripped open to reveal its anatomy, representing the version of Kahlo that Rivera rejected. A blood vessel connects this heart to the other, binding the two figures together, while she uses a surgical tool to stem the flow of blood from a severed artery.12
Beyond the heartbreak of her divorce, the use of exposed, wounded anatomy also reflects Kahlo’s lifelong struggle with chronic pain, illness, and the physical trauma she endured following a serious bus accident.1