The mystery of the disappearance of the painting by Frida Kahlo, which the artist presented to Russia: "The Wounded Table"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The Wounded Table is like the holy grail for scientists and researchers of Kahlo's biography. The piece went missing after Frida agreed to redirect it to the Mexican ambassador to the Soviet Union. This unique self-portrait was painted between late 1939 and 1940. The divorce of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera contributed to the beginning of work on the canvas. What plots are hidden in the symbols of the masterpiece and how did such a monumental work of the Mexican artist disappear?

History of creation

Kahlo has become one of Mexico's most recognizable and beloved artists, not only because of her signature style, but also because of the mysterious symbolism in her work. "The Wounded Table" is the largest painting by Kahlo, measuring 1, 2 x 2, 4 m, made in oil on wood. The work is a surreal depiction of Kahlo and her guests gathered around a table covered in bleeding sores.

Today, this work is estimated at more than $ 20 million. The painting was a kind of response to despair and loneliness in the current personal situation. In a letter to Nicholas Murray, she wrote that she was "working like hell" in order to complete it in time for the International Exhibition of Surrealism, in which "The Wounded Table" was exhibited with masterpieces of other respected surrealist artists Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte.

The plot of the work

In this picture, the table has human legs, and its surface is bleeding in several places. The Wounded Table is a symbol of Frida's all-encompassing feelings about family and divorce. In the center of the table sits Frida herself, surrounded by all the accompanying elements and characters of the picture. On the one hand, there are two children of her sister Christina - Isolde and Antonio. Due to injuries due to the accident, Kahlo could not bear children, and her beloved niece and nephew appear in the picture as a sign of pain and love for children.

On the other hand, a deer, one of her favorite pets. Also a prototype of surrogate children. Next to her is the figure of Nayarit. The tall figure of Judas is considered the prototype of Diego Rivera (who betrayed Frida, and therefore betrayed her). Subsequently, Rivera admitted his mistake: “I just wanted to be free and behave with any woman as I please. I was a depraved victim of my own appetites."

All the heroes of the scene are very reminiscent of their composition the famous masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci "The Last Supper". A skeleton is shown to the left of Frida. He has thick feet and amputated right leg (analogy with Frida's amputated toes after an accident in 1934. Round head, big eyes, open laughter, skeletal ribs are not typical for a human skeleton. All these features belong to a figure in Aztec mythology - Miktlansihuatl or Goddess of the Dead who died at the birth of a child. All the figures and elements are depicted in the painting face forward, as if looking at the audience from the stage.

Symbolism of the picture

1. The first priority symbolism is, of course, the embodiment of inner emotions regarding the divorce from Rivera and other life blows of fate. Kahlo suffered several traumas: she was crippled by polio at a young age, and when she was 18, she was seriously injured in an accident that affected her entire life.

2. The second symbolism of the "Wounded Table" represents the disintegration of Mexico. The fact is that Diego Rivera felt betrayed by Mexico. He was an ardent patriot who wanted Mexicans to return to their ancestral origins, so that Mexicans achieve their own social and cultural fulfillment and identity. By marrying Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo followed him in this commitment. Therefore, it is likely that in The Wounded Table, Frida Kahlo presents the viewer with the idea that the Mexican Frida is also in the process of decay. All figures and objects in the picture are symbols of Mexico and also symbols of different sides of Frida Kahlo's personality.

The missing

This is probably the most mysterious of Frida's works - she painted it in a short period of time and was exhibited for the first time in January 1940. He was last seen at an exhibition in Warsaw in 1955. And then the painting … disappeared on the way to an exhibition in Moscow. Only three photographs taken between 1940 and 1944 are known to document this picture. For decades, art historians have searched archives and museums in America and Europe for the painting.

At the end of June 2020, the first glimpses emerged regarding the possible location of Kahlo's work. A Spanish art dealer named Christian Lopez claims to have discovered the "holy grail" of Frida's work - a long-lost painting "The Wounded Table" that went missing 65 years ago. The painting is currently in a warehouse in London, Lopez said. Its anonymous owner is asking for about $ 45 million for it. Meanwhile, experts are questioning the authenticity of the painting. Could a painting be forgotten in the basement of a museum? Or perhaps a secret collector has hidden the masterpiece from the public? I hope one day the mystery will be solved.

All fans of this artist will definitely like a photo project that allows you to turn into Frida Kahlo for 15 minutes.