Beth Evans
Editor, Pain Concern
Explore Frida Kahlo’s raw portrayal of chronic pain in ‘The Broken Column.’ Discover how her art reflects resilience through her pain and suffering.
Pain is invisible and hard to explain. People often feel disbelieved, even ridiculed. That emotional abandonment is pure suffering. It’s time to see pain to look at who we really are.
Expressing pain through art
The images of Frida Kahlo are universal. Her striking dark features, prominent monobrow and hundreds of self-portraits hang in galleries, are stuck on cushions and have become the symbol for much feminist discourse.
But did you know that Kahlo lived with chronic pain for most of her life? After being hit by a bus at the age of 18, Kahlo was left with multiple injuries and persistent pain. She began encapsulating her pain through art.
She shows that she is as beautiful and important as a person living with chronic pain.
The Broken Column (1944)
Kahlo painted The Broken Column (1944) following an unsuccessful surgery on her spine. Kahlo is centre frame, partially naked and covered in nails. Her body is wrapped in white straps, holding her together. Her body is ripped in two, split by a cracked column that stands jarringly inside her body as if to represent her pain.
Her hair flows down her back, her breasts exposed and she holds a white cloth to cover her lower body. Parallels can be drawn between Kahlo and The Birth of Venus (1483). Botticelli imagines Venus with her hair flowing, breasts partially exposed and covering her ‘modesty.’ Kahlo takes autonomy of her own body depicting it just as beautiful as the divine female.
Look me in the eye
Kahlo looks straight ahead at the viewer, giving the painting an intense yet intimate feeling. She stands strong in the face of her physical restraints and pain. As we gaze and marvel at her body, she does the same to us despite the limits of her painted form. Her eyes follow you, daring you to stop and stare.
Kahlo depicts her physical pain with such raw beauty; it is physically a part of her, but it does not define nor overshadow who she is. She shows that she is as beautiful and important as a person living with chronic pain. She bares herself to us as she is and stands just as tall. This is who she really is.
Pain Concern is a charity for people with pain, professionals and anyone who cares for someone with pain.
