Frida Khalo painted the Two Fridas in 1939 after the divorce with her husband. Each Frida in the picture represents either her Mexican or her European identity, which is seen from their clothes. The artist painted two images of herself sitting next to each other, holding their hand, and connected by the heart vessel. The heart of the European Frida is torn open, and she holds scissors in her hands. The picture is autobiographical and expresses Frida’s agony and the personal catastrophe of separation from the lover.
The prevalent shades of the painting give the picture an oppressive and suffocating temperament. A woman who has experienced so much pain, torment, and despair cannot draw “softly.” That is why, the artists used dark colors, mostly with a gray tone, and even the white is perceived as a darker white. The background depicts the clouds in this not-white white sad color representing the mood of the scene. Thus, the color decision completely matches the concept of the canvas and shows the artist’s feelings.
The spectator may feel the loneliness which the picture expresses. Both women in the picture have open hearts and interweaving bloodlines. There are both lonely, but their loneliness is different, and their feelings complement each other. Holding each other hands communicated the idea that duality probably means that the two identities are not detached, although they are distinguished. Therefore, although they are two supporting each other, they are still one identity, and they are alone.
The European Frida saw his husband as a piece of her innate nature, and that is the reason Frida is being delineated with the cut heart and bloodline. Furthermore, the heart and the emotions are not prone to be as open as they used to be anymore because of the injury.
The comparing delineation to this would establish the representation of the “second” Frida. In contrast with the European Frida in white, her heart and her bloodlines are not being cut. It can be seen that a woman in modern clothes cuts her vein, blood drops in large drops on her skirt. The Mexican Frida holds an amulet in her hand. The amulet depicts her husband, who loved her simple, Mexican girl, and despised the European part of his wife. Although he could not accept her duality, it was impossible to tear off one of the images as they existed in harmony and were connected by common blood.
The artist suffered from misunderstanding, but Frida Khalo could not make her husband accept her. Therefore, the canvas reflects the attitude of her dual nature to her husband. A simple Mexican woman squeezes the image of a man in the palm of her hand, and a modern European woman boldly cuts off the vein that brought her so much suffering. Thus, there were disputes in the soul of a woman all the time.
In conclusion, the Two Fridas represent deep emotions of separation from beloved people. The artists depicted herself in two possibilities, which are both her identities. Moreover, the painting shows the inner personal split, which is caused by this traumatic experience. Frida Khalo used the colors to create extremely sad and dramatic scenery. She showed that the feelings were versatile, and she perceived it differently from each side of her personality. Thus, the painting is a significant artwork of the artist’s career and art heritage.