Master Artists: Painting about their Health

Frida Kahlo, Edvard Munch, Vincent Van Gogh, to name a few used art to express their mental and medical health.

Let’s take a look at what their art told us about their life.

Frida Kahlo, was a Mexican painter, (July 6, 1907-July 13 1954). She painted self-portraits, portraits and nature and other topics about Mexico. She had a folk art style to her art. She painted subjects about the country’s culture, race, identity, gender and class. She painted about her chronic pain. When she was 6 years old, she was diagnosed with polio. Her right leg was shorter and thinner than her left leg. She was isolated from her peers and she was bullied. In 1925, Kahlo and her boyfriend was coming home from school, using a bus. They were in an accident that caused the bus to hit the streetcar. Frida was impaled with an iron handrail that went through her pelvis. She suffered injuries of her pelvic bone, abdomen, uterus and spine. Her right leg was broken and her right foot was crushed and her collarbone was broken with a shoulder dislocated.

She spent months in the hospital. she had fatigue, and back pain, causing the doctors to get an x-ray that showed she also displaced three vertebrae. She had to wear a corset which confined her to the bed for months.

Her painting reflected her accident and the physical injuries. Her bed rest ended in 1927. She had exhibits of her artwork and married a painter.

Edvard Munch, (Dec 12, 1863- Jan 23, 1944) His most famous art is The Scream, which was painted in 1893. During his childhood he had an illness, bereavement and was diagnosed with a mental condition that ran in the family. He met an artist/writer, Hans Jaeger, who encouraged him to paint his psychological state. He went to Paris, met other artists, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec. He learned from them about painting with color. He painted a series called The Frieze of Life, that depicted anxiety, love, jealousy and betrayal.

His fame and wealth grew but in 1908 he gave up drinking due to having a mental breakdown. He was spend in his last years of working in privacy. His artwork was banned in Nazi-occupied Europe, but most surviced WW II.

Vincent Van Gogh, March 30, 1853-July 29, 1890. He was a post-impressionist painter. He created 2100 artworks, including 860 oil paintings. Most of his work was painted the last two years of his life. He struggled with severe depression and poverty. He completed suicide at age 37. He became depressed when he was traveling as an art dealer. He was transferred to London. He turned to religion and then his health declined and started painting in 1881. He moved back to his parents. He had psychotic episodes and delusions. he neglected his physical health, not eating and drinking heavily. His brother financially supported him. he ended a friendship with another artist, Gauguin, after a confrontation with a razor, he severed part of his left ear. He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. He was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and was considered a failure and a “madman.” He became famous after his suicide. Most of Van Gogh’s paintings are in Amsterdam, which is in the Van Gogh Museum.

Take some time to look up these artists works. Due to copyright reasons, I will not be able to publish any of their art on this blog.