6. What role did surrealism play in Frida Kahlo's work?
While often categorized as a Surrealist, Kahlo rejected this label, stating that she "never painted dreams... [but her] own reality." Despite this rejection, her work shares common ground with Surrealism, particularly in its exploration of the subconscious and the use of symbolic imagery. Her paintings often feature dreamlike sequences, distorted figures, and jarring juxtapositions, creating a surreal and unsettling atmosphere. However, unlike the Surrealists who sought to escape reality, Kahlo used these elements to explore her inner world, making her work a unique blend of personal narrative and surrealist imagery.
In this painting, Dream of The Bed, painted in the year of 1940, Frida expressed her feeling and interception of death. In real life, Frida has a skeleton on the canopy of her bed. Her husband, Diego Rivera called the Juda Frida's lover but Frida said it's just an amusing reminder of people's mortality. In this painting, both Frida and the skeleton are lying on the bed on their sides with their heads on two pillows. While Frida is in a sound sleep, the skeleton is awake and watching. The skeleton is also wired with explosives that can go off and explode at any time. On Frida's body, green plants are a symbol of life and rebirth. The background clouds are light and airy and it seems the bed is floating in the sky.