The Broken Column Analysis

One of my favorite painting of all time is Frida Kahlo self-portrait “The Broken Column”, so much pain in one piece of art. I should say it’s difficult to split out elements of that profound painting to analyze every element without the whole. Each portrait has an iconic likeness of Frida, but the not only likeness is important, in a closer view each work gives an expression of something much more profound in which every minute detail is incredibly significant like a personal symbol.

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One weird thing is that Frida in this painting appears alone. It is not the typical portrait of her because generally, she painted herself with animals like monkeys, parrots, cats or also with some plants, flowers or leaves. But in “The broken column” she is alone in a desert under a stormy dark sky and with tears in her eyes. Frida’s works are without any doubt autobiographic.

At the age of eighteen, she was involved in a violent bus accident. After that, her life was marked by chronic pain and health problems. “The Broken Column” was painted shortly after spinal surgery.

We see Frida, standing naked in straps of the corset directly in front of us in a middle of the canvas. She appears to be placed before the background, skirt swirls before her legs. The central position of the body always gives the feeling of presence in the definite moment.

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The right part of the canvas, according to the semiotic visual analysis, is always associated with the Past while the left part is related to the Future and central composition here is a representation of the present, fleeting moment. Frida is present near us, right here, right now, showing everything she has physically and mentally absolutely without hiding. Like a person who is between her past and future showing us all her pain, she has in this particular moment. The only hint of movement we get from this painting is the flow of the skirt before her figure. Otherwise, space and the woman is ver…