David Alfaro Siqueiros
David Alfaro Siqueiros was a Mexican muralist who used pyroxylin, automotive coatings, and other industrial materials in dynamic public paintings.
Painter
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter known for self-portraits and paintings exploring identity, family, physical pain, relationships, and Mexican culture.
Frida Kahlo quick facts
Kahlo’s quick facts place her Mexican identity and major periods in context, while noting her resistance to being labeled a Surrealist painter.
| Full name | Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón |
|---|---|
| Born | July 6, 1907 · Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico |
| Died | July 13, 1954 · Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Movements | Mexican modernism |
| Paint types | Oil paint · Tempera · Watercolor |
| Other media | — |
| Other materials | — |
| Painting surfaces | Painting board · Canvas · Metal · Paper |
| Painting methods | Detailed figurative oil painting with controlled brushwork on canvas and rigid supports |
| Common subjects | Self-portraits, family, identity, the body, pain, relationships, animals, and Mexican culture |
| Notable works | Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair, My Grandparents, My Parents, and I, Fulang-Chang and I, and The Two Fridas |
Sources: The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA: Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair, MoMA: My Grandparents, My Parents, and I, MoMA: Fulang-Chang and I, and NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale: Self-portrait on Diary Page.
Paint types used by Frida Kahlo
Kahlo used oil on canvas and zinc, mixed oil and tempera in a family portrait, and made watercolor works on paper across her artistic career.
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Oil paint
MoMA records Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair (1940) as oil on canvas. Kahlo used the medium for direct self-portraits that address identity, clothing, and personal history. The collection entry supports oil and canvas in this specific work, distinct from the tempera and watercolor records for other pieces.
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Tempera
MoMA records My Grandparents, My Parents, and I as oil and tempera on zinc, showing Kahlo’s use of two paints together on a metal support. The work combines a family-tree structure with autobiographical imagery. The museum names tempera but does not specify its binder, so it should not be relabeled egg tempera.
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Watercolor
NSU Art Museum catalogs Self-Portrait on Diary Page as watercolor, crayon, pencil, and ink on paper. This small work documents a separate medium and support from Kahlo’s oil self-portraits. The paper sheet combines painted and drawn materials, which the collection record identifies individually.
Sources: MoMA: Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair.; MoMA: Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair, oil on canvas; MoMA: My Grandparents, My Parents, and I, oil and tempera on zinc; NSU Art Museum: Self-Portrait on Diary Page, watercolor; SFMOMA: Frida Kahlo
Painting surfaces used by Frida Kahlo
Collection entries identify painting board and canvas among Frida Kahlo’s supports, with the examples below grounding each material in documented works.
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Painting Board
Kahlo painted on rigid board, including hard-fiber supports used for several self-portraits. These panels differ from canvas and metal, both documented in her collection records. The surfaces allowed her to make portable painted works; the entry reflects specific museum records rather than assuming one standard support.
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Canvas
Kahlo’s paintings include canvas supports, as documented by MoMA and other museum collections. Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair is one example of an oil painting on canvas, distinct from zinc panels and paper works. Collection records establish canvas in her practice without generalizing it to every painting.
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Metal
Kahlo painted on metal in works such as My Grandparents, My Parents, and I, made with oil and tempera on zinc. The rigid metal surface differs from canvas and board and supports this autobiographical composition. The museum record names zinc specifically, documenting a nontraditional support in her practice.
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Paper
Paper appears in Kahlo’s drawings and painted works, including the NSU Art Museum’s Self-Portrait on Diary Page in watercolor, crayon, pencil, and ink. These sheets are distinct from her canvas paintings and zinc support. Collection records identify paper for specific works on paper.
Sources: The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA: Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair, MoMA: My Grandparents, My Parents, and I, MoMA: Fulang-Chang and I, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale: Self-portrait on Diary Page.
Painters similar to Frida Kahlo
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Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso was a Spanish artist whose career ranged from the Blue and Rose periods through Cubism, Surrealism, sculpture, printmaking, and ceramics.