A magnificent artist and feminist, Frida Kahlo took Surrealism to a whole new level. From her struggle with chronic pain to her rocky relationship with Diego Rivera, Kahlo chronicled her life through self-portraits. Explore some famous Frida Kahlo quotes to inspire your inner spirit.
Frida Kahlo Quotes to Make You Think
Born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderon in 1907, Frida Kahlo is a legendary artist. Kahlo is known for her iconic look and brilliant colored self-portraits. Using paint and canvas, she conveyed her life, reality and suffering for the world to see. Explore Frida Kahlo's unique look on life she shared through letters and comments.
“Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.”
“Your word travels the entirety of space and reaches my cells which are my stars then goes to yours which are my light.”
“Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light. Tragedy is the most ridiculous thing.”
“I think that little by little I’ll be able to solve my problems and survive.”
“You deserve the best, the very best, because you are one of the few people in this lousy world who are honest to themselves, and that is the only thing that really counts.”
“Only one mountain can know the core of another mountain.”
“I leave you my portrait so that you will have my presence all the days and nights that I am away from you.”
“Pain, pleasure and death are no more than a process for existence. The revolutionary struggle in this process is a doorway open to intelligence.”
“Don’t build a wall around your own suffering — it may devour you from the inside.”
A Portrait of Perseverance: Frida Kahlo Quotes
Frida Kahlo’s life was anything but easy. Due to a bus accident in her late teens, she suffered multiple surgeries and daily pain. She also endured several miscarriages and a rocky marriage with Diego Rivera. Despite it all, Kahlo found ways to preserve and find joy within her life. See a few Frida Kahlo quotes examining her struggle.
“I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.”
“I have suffered two grave accidents in my life, one in which a streetcar knocked me down ... The other accident is Diego.”
“I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return.”
“Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?”
“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.”
“I think that little by little I’ll be able to solve my problems and survive.”
Frida Kahlo on Creativity and Painting
One way that Kahlo found solace within her life was through art. She created over 50 self-portraits exploring her reality and her pain. She often referred to herself as her best subject. Additionally, she commented often on her Surrealist work. Dive into Frida Kahlo’s thoughts on creativity and painting and how her passion pulled her through the pain.
“I paint flowers so they will not die.”
“They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn't. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.”
“Painting completed my life.”
“My painting carries with it the message of pain.”
“I don't paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.”
“I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.”
“I am my own muse, I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to know better.
“I have never expected anything from my work but the satisfaction I could get from it by the very fact of painting and saying what I couldn’t say otherwise.”
“Since my subjects have always been my sensations, my states of mind and the profound reactions that life has been producing in me, I have frequently objectified all this in figures of myself, which were the most sincere and real thing that I could do in order to express what I felt inside and outside of myself.”
“Surrealism is the magical surprise of finding a lion in a wardrobe, where you were ‘sure’ of finding shirts.”
Understanding Frida Kahlo
There are painters, and then there are artists. Frida Kahlo is among the true artists. Using her brush, she wove a story of her life and her beliefs. Not only did she comment on her pain and suffering, but she gave her thoughts on feminism as well. Now that you’ve enjoyed a selection of Frida Kahlo quotes, you might want to check out another famous artist like Leonardo da Vinci and how he was ahead of his time. Looking for more surreal work? Then you can check out the creativity of Salvador Dali.