In The Broken Column, Frida Kahlo presents herself in all her rawness – we see tears, pins, and pain. This is just one example of many that Kahlo created.
When Kahlo was 18 years old, a bus collided with a car and ran into her. She endured and suffered a metal handrail impaled through her pelvic hip area.
Although she always enjoyed art, from a young age, she was mostly self-taught but learned from many. Kahlo’s father was a photographer, and this is where she learned artistic skills like observation.
In The Broken Column, Kahlo faces the viewers, her gaze seemingly unbroken as she looks ahead. The column is placed to represent her spine. If we look closer, the column is cracked and seemingly starting to fall apart.
The colors in The Broken Column painting are mostly greens, blues, whites, and the lighter brown of Kahlo’s skin complexion – all-natural and subdued colors.
There have been numerous suggested symbolic references in The Broken Column, namely the white covering around Kahlo’s torso and the nails in her skin, which point to religious symbols.