Frida Kahlo

by Achille Bonito Oliva, Martha Zamora

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) è una delle icone del nostro tempo: con la sua pittura e, forse ancor più, con la sua stessa immagine, fotografica e dipinta.
Il suo volto, il suo corpo, perfino le sue ferite, gli amori e le tragedie sono la carne viva della sua pittura intensa e violenta, che attinge ai colori della sua terra, il Messico.
Una versione arricchita e rimodellata della monografia di ''Art e Dossier'' - firmata da uno dei più importanti critici d'arte italiani e dalla scrittrice messicana che meglio ha saputo raccontare la vita e l'arte di Frida Kahlo - con 60 pagine dedicate ai capolavori dell'artista, più immagini e più dettagli, una nuova grafica e un nuovo formato in versione cartonata con sovraccoperta.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Biography, Art History

127 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2001

About the author

Achille Bonito Oliva is an Italian art critic and historian of contemporary art. Since 1968 he has taught history of contemporary art at La Sapienza, the university of Rome. He has written extensively on contemporary art and contemporary artists. He originated the term Transavanguardia to describe the new direction taken in the late 1970s by artists such as Sandro Chia, Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi, Nicola De Maria, and Mimmo Paladino. He has organised or curated numerous contemporary art events and exhibitions; in 1993 he was artistic director of the Biennale di Venezia.

Reviews

[kutingtin · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I DON'T PAINT DREAMS OR NIGHTMARES,
I PAINT MY OWN REALITY."

I love Frida Khalo’s one wild, artistic, tragic but unapologetic life. She is self taught and despite her short life she was able to produce 143 paintings 55 of which are self portraits. Iconic and truly a woman ahead of her time.

[Ash Thorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photographs of Kahlo’s life and her art compliment each other nicely. The selection of both was an excellent representation of her life and work.

[Haylee]

If you’re looking for a good book to help you write about Frida and her work, this is the one! This book isn’t so much biographical but rather covers the influences to her art style, the context of her art, detailed descriptions of the ideas behind artworks and full page spreads of several pieces, super helpful!!

[Sieglinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mistakenly got this coffee table book rom the library thinking it was a biography. It actually details the influences on her art and the people she was with. An essay describes the Mexico City of the 1920’s, a vibrant avant-garde city transformed from an impoverished backwater. There are a large number of prints of her paintings and some paintings from those who inspired her. So worth the read but the book is large and physically heavy

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished Frida Kahlo and my first thought was "that's it?" My second thought, an hour later, was "oh, that's it." Achille Bonito Oliva plays the restraint card so hard it nearly backfires. Good for readers who like quiet punches, not for fans of big dramatic finales.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone interested in Frida, this is a great introduction. The book is filled with excellent reproductions of many of her paintings.

[Roberto Iori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buon libro per conoscere la storia di Frida Kahlo e lo stretto legame delle sue esperienze personali con le opere. Ho trovato molto ben fatta, fruibile e ordinata la prima parte del libro, legata direttamente alle opere, mentre nella seconda metà si lascia molto spazio ad una analisi molto ricercata e articolata del significato stilistico delle opere e del rapporto di FK con esse. Ho gradito molto anche le ultime pagine che mostrano una timeline che ripercorre parallelamente gli eventi storici di rilievo e quelli della vita ed opere dell’artista.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Kahlo-aaddict, I'd love to give this biography a "5," but it just didn't hack it. The photos and painting reproductions are fascinating. However, I feel the author never caught the pain, passion nor eccentricity of Frida Kahlo's actual life. This book should have been at least a third shorter--for it is heavy-handed and much too scholarly for its own good.

[Aurora Bennardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro d’arte molto Interessante. Non ne avevo mai letto uno prima, e come primo libro dire che sono molto soddisfatta. Parla in breve della vita, delle opere, dei problemi e delle tematiche affrontate nei suoi dipinti. Io amavo Frida Kahlo già da prima, e con questo approfondimento mi è piaciuta ancora di più!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art work was fantastic! The biography was more about the times in which Frida lived than it was about Frida, which was alright, but not what I was hoping for.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Frida Kahlo fan must have. Stunning images.

[Vanlilith]

-

[Jst'tay · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best.:)

[Olga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Красивое издание с качественными иллюстрациями, но биография Фриды изложена очень поверхностно и небрежно, а интерпретация картин порой вызывала недоумение.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voted prettiest Pictures....by ME!

[Cori Aguilar · Rating 4 out of 5]

enthralling

[Camille Haynie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biography. This was a biography because it was a non-fiction book about Frida Kahlo's life and art. I love Frida and I think her art presents messages of self-confidence, emotion, and passion which would be something I would love to teach to older grades.