Painting a real picture

BENGALURU:  In 1931, revolutionary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo painted an oil painting of her wedding day. In the painting, Kahlo stands with her husband Diego Rivera, also regarded as one of Mexico’s greatest artists. Kahlo and Rivera’s marriage, in many ways, was the coming together of two of the most important artistic voices in Mexican art history.

So heavy was the gravity of their union, the couple had to marry each other twice. Bengaluru’s Gallery G is showcasing the exhibition Diego & Frida: Life Chronicles, presented by the Mexican Embassy in India, in association with the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL) of Mexico and Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo.

It showcases 60 photo reprints of the celebrated couple taken by distinguished artists, including Guillermo Kahlo, Guillermo Zamora, Vicente Contreras, and Ernesto Reyes. The photographs reflect important moments in the couple’s marriage, as well as Kahlo’s political activism. Displayed to the Indian crowd for the first time, this exhibition will run until October 10.

“On the 212th anniversary of Mexican Independence (1810- 2022), this exhibition pays homage to two iconic artists of 20th century Mexico, Frida and Diego, representatives of an era when the country was in the middle of constructing a new and modern national identity 100 years after Independence.

This period is now considered one of the most significant junctures in the postcolonial history of Mexico, where art and revolution merged and left behind its legacy in a host of magnificent artworks that continue to define the contemporary Mexican identity,” says H E Federico Salas, Mexican Ambassador to India.