Wading into Battle: Frida Kahlo, Surrealism, and the Gradivian Myth

• Published in: RIHA journal
• Main Author: Piechura, Joanna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Munich International Association of Research Institutes in the History of Art 01.01.2021
• Subjects: 20th century; Friendship; Influence; Jensen, Wilhelm (1837-1911); Kahlo, Frida; Lamba, Jacqueline (1910-1993); Novellas; Painters; Surrealism

The author investigates Frida Kahlo's subversive response to the surrealist imaginary of the Woman-Child, brought to life in Wilhelm Jensen's novella Gradiva (1901). The author retraces the Freudian roots of Gradiva's popularity among the surrealists, and analyses Kahlo's paintin...