The lines and colors of the work of Frida Kahlo are traces of real life transposed upon canvas: the love for Diego Rivera, the incident, polio, Mexico. To paint was for Frida a way of talking about reality, not about dreams.

In her work the profound essence of her country and of human being: a full humanity that comes to life thanks to the experience of its history, to the endless angles and perspectives to take to be the protagonists of its time. Symbols of passion and colors of love wounds make her art a striking beauty. Many of her paintings are set in the domestic scenarios of Casa Azul, her bedroom, her garden, and, not least, the bathroom.

The canvas of 1938 “What the water gave me”, also known as “What I saw in the water”, is the reflection of the water in a bathtub: the important events in the life of Frida in the past, present and future. There are pictorial elements that stand out over others, and everything seems to take the same relief, but not the same meaning. A life-map of the painter.

The structure of the picture seems to be an invitation to bathe in that water, and immerse themselves in the life of the painter with her own eyes. The color creates a rhythm and reference points of the eye, including the depiction of her naked and dying, her parents, the flowers, the volcano with the skyscraper and the profound void left by her husband Diego after separation.

This pond of water becomes interior space where Frida’s experiences of reality emerge, in an intimate place like the bathroom of her house, to find herself and her memories.

Discover the other artists who have set their works in the bathroom, by clicking here.

Image source: “What the Water Gave Me by Frida Kahlo” by Source (WP:NFCC#4). Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:What_the_Water_Gave_Me_by_Frida_Kahlo.jpg#/media/File:What_the_Water_Gave_Me_by_Frida_Kahlo.jpg