Frida Kahlo: The Paintings

I know nothing about Mexico or about paintings. And I am least interested to read biographies. Still I found myself intriguied by Frida Kahlo who is a Mexican painter and picked this biography on her life. Her life is very extraordinary as I found out when I watched this movie on her starring Salma Hayek. And I loved this book because it told the story of her through her paintings. Its her paintings which make you wanna ask questions, for her paintings are not about pretty flowers or landscape or fishes in the oceans. Many of her paintings are in fact shocking in the way that they are too direct and poignant, and splattered with a lot of blood but still they are not asking for any sympathy or anything at all. Frida was a very talented woman who could make striking poetry on canvas. She painted everything with an element of her in it.... her emotions, her pain, her longing and her feelings. She is all about strength, strong will, determination,and pride. She did not try to do right or wrong thing but live her life her own way, on her rules, a woman who made herself memorable and a legend through her paintings. She inspires because of her gritty life. This book is very engrossing read on Frida's life as seen through her paintings.

This is easily, and without fluff, the best Frida Kahlo bio in print. Herrera not only has a great gift with wordds, but she truly gets within Kahlo's turbulent times, affairs and issues to paint a very descriptive world of this brilliant, tortured woman.

My children gave this book to me for Christmas as a companion to Frida's biography. It is beautiful and comprehensive. A must-have for any fan of her work.

This is a very nice combination of biographical information and art. A little of both keeps the book interesting. The quality is very good and I was a little surprised how nice the images were for the price.

The book, as noted, focuses on her paintings and covers a wide spectrum of her work. I couldn't put it down. I was captivated by Frida's work, and the comments, stories and history added by the author were excellent - relevant, interesting and informative. I recommend it to anyone interested in this fascinating and unique paintor.