In this article, we compiled some of the best Frida Kahlo quotes that provide a window into her thoughts on art, life, and love.
Frida Kahlo was a world-renowned Mexican artist who is celebrated for her bold and vibrant paintings that depict the female experience. Throughout her career, Kahlo produced numerous thought-provoking quotes that have resonated with people around the world.
Short biography of Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo was one of the most iconic and influential artists of the 20th century. Born in Mexico in 1907, Kahlo began painting at a young age and quickly developed her own unique style. Her work often explored themes of identity, gender, and disability, and she is considered one of the first feminist artists.
Kahlo’s work is characterized by its bright colors and its focus on Mexican culture. She often incorporated traditional Mexican symbols and imagery into her paintings. Kahlo’s art is also deeply personal; many of her paintings reflect her own experiences and emotions.
She was married to Diego Rivera, another well-known Mexican artist, and the two had a tumultuous relationship. Kahlo was also known for her affairs with both men and women, including Leon Trotsky.
Throughout her life, she suffered from many health problems, due in part to a bus accident she was in as a teenager. She suffered from chronic pain and underwent over 30 operations throughout her life. Despite her health problems, Kahlo was an incredibly prolific artist, and her work has been celebrated around the world. She died in 1954 at the age of 47.
In addition to being an amazing artist, Kahlo was also an inspiring woman with a lot to say. Here are some of the best Frida Kahlo quotes in many different topics that provide a glimpse into her fascinating mind.
Self-portrait Frida Kahlo quotes
A self-portrait is a representation of an artist, drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter who is best known for her self-portraits. Check out some Frida Kahlo quotes about self-portraits and painting:
“I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.”
“They thought I was a surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality.”
“I paint flowers so they will not die.”
“What I wanted to express very clearly and intensely was that the reason these people had to invent or imagine heroes and gods is pure fear. Fear of life and fear of death.”
“Really, I do not know whether my paintings are surrealist or not, but I do know that they are the frankest expression of myself.”
“My paintings are well-painted, not nimbly but patiently. My painting contains in it the message of pain. I think that at least a few people are interested in it. It’s not revolutionary. Why keep wishing for it to be belligerent? I can’t.”
“Painting completed my life. I lost three children and a series of other things that would have fulfilled my horrible life. My painting took the place of all of this. I think work is the best.”
“The fact that I painted myself twice, I think, is nothing but the representation of my loneliness.”
“I leave you my portrait so that you will have my presence all the days and nights that I am away from you.”
“The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.”
Frida Kahlo quotes love
Though she is celebrated for her vibrant art, Kahlo is also remembered for the heart-wrenching love story between her and Diego Rivera. From their first meeting to Kahlo’s death, the couple’s relationship was fraught with infidelity, jealousy, and pain–but also passion and love. Here are some of memorable Frida Kahlo quotes about love and relationships.
“You deserve a lover who takes away the lies and brings you hope, coffee, and poetry.”
“I am that clumsy human, always loving, loving, loving. And loving. And never leaving.”
“This is how it feels to be in this broken female body. This is how it feels to be alone…this is how it feels to be me. I dare you to look…and once you look, I’m going to make sure you cannot look away.”
“I love you more than my own skin and even though you don’t love me the same way, you love me anyways, don’t you? And if you don’t, I’ll always have the hope that you do, and I’m satisfied with that. Love me a little. I adore you.”
“Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic.”
“There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the train the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst.”
“Perhaps it is expected that I should lament about how I have suffered living with a man like Diego. But I do not think that the banks of a river suffer because they let the river flow, nor does the earth suffer because of the rains, nor does the atom suffer for letting its energy escape. To my way of thinking, everything has its natural compensation.”
“I have not forgotten you – the nights are long and difficult.”
“You too know that all my eyes see, all touch with myself, from any distance, is you. The caress of fabrics, the color of colors, the wires, the nerves, the pencils, the leaves, the dust, the cells, the war and the sun, everything experienced in the minutes of the non-clocks and the non-calendars and the empty non-glances, is you.”
“You felt it, that’s why you let that ship take me away from Le Havre where you never said good-bye to me. I will write to you with my eyes, always. For you is all.”
Strong woman Frida Kahlo quotes
Despite her suffering, Kahlo remained an optimist and continued to create stunning artwork until her death. Check out these Frida Kahlo quotes to live by:
“Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.”
“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.”
“I have to fight with all my strength to contribute the few positive things my health allows me to the revolution.”
“There is nothing more precious than laughter.”
“I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return.”
“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.”
“At the end of the day, we can endure a lot more than we think we can.”
“Pain, pleasure and death are no more than a process for existence. The revolutionary struggle in this process is a doorway open to intelligence.”
Famous Frida Kahlo quotes
Here are some of thought-provoking Frida Kahlo quotes that continue to resonate with people today.
“Only one mountain can know the core of another mountain.”
“To feel the anguish of waiting for the next moment and of taking part in the complex current (of affairs) not knowing that we are headed toward ourselves, through millions of stone beings – of bird beings – of star beings – of microbe beings – of fountain beings toward ourselves.”
“I wish I could do whatever I liked behind the curtain of madness. Then: I’d arrange flowers, all day long, I’d paint; pain, love and tenderness, I would laugh as much as I feel like at the stupidity of others, and they would all say: Poor thing, she’s crazy! (Above all I would laugh at my own stupidity.) I would build my world which while I lived, would be in agreement with all the worlds.”
“The day, or the hour, or the minute that I lived would be mine and everyone else’s – my madness would not be an escape from reality.”
“I want to be inside your darkest everything.”
“Tragedy is the most ridiculous thing.”
“They are so damn ’intellectual’ and rotten that I can’t stand them anymore. I [would] rather sit on the floor in the market of Toluca and sell tortillas, than have anything to do with those ’artistic’ bitches of Paris.”
“I tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good feeling.”
“Why keep wishing for it to be belligerent? I can’t.”
“This upper class is disgusting and I’m furious at all these rich people here, having seen thousands of people in abject squalor.”
“The revolutionary struggle in this process is a doorway open to intelligence.”
Frida Kahlo quotes about art
Kahlo is celebrated for her deeply personal and provocative paintings. Her art is still revered today for its honest representation of the female experience, as well as its unapologetic embrace of Mexican culture and heritage. Here are some of most memorable Frida Kahlo quotes about art and creativity:
“Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?”
“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.”
“Surrealism is the magical surprise of finding a lion in a wardrobe, where you were ’sure’ of finding shirts.”
“It’s not possible to present an accurate picture of our culture without all the voices of the people in the culture. So at the emerging level, you can’t have a good survey art show without women and artists of color.”
“So at the emerging level, you can’t have a good survey art show without women and artists of color.”
“The poet I like the most is [Carlos] Pellicer. I also admire Pita Amor.”
“Heart like a four-poster bed. Heart like a canvas.”
“I didn’t study with Diego. I didn’t study with anyone. I just started to paint.”
“It’s not possible to present an accurate picture of our culture without all the voices of the people in the culture.”
“What I wanted to express, more intensely and clearly was that the reason people needed to invent or imagine heroes and gods is pure fear.”
Frida Kahlo quotes about life
Kahlo’s art is often described as surrealist or magical realist, and she is known for her feminist and communist views. In addition to being an artist, Kahlo was also a wife, a mother, and an activist. Her words still resonate today and offer valuable life lessons. Here are some of our favorite Frida Kahlo quotes.
“Heart leaking something so string they can smell it from the street.”
“All of you in a space full of sounds — in the shade and in the light.”
“But then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do.”
“Life insists on being my friend and my enemy.”
“You are all the combinations of numbers of life.”
“People in general are scared to death of the war and all the exhibitions have been a failure.”
“I would laugh as much as I feel like at the stupidity of others, and they would all say: ’Poor thing, she’s crazy!’”
“Remember that every tick-tock is a second of life that goes by and doesn’t repeat itself.”
“What would I do without the absurd and the fleeting?”
“I felt that something was in my throat, just as if I had swallowed the whole world.”
Final thought
These Frida Kahlo quotes provide a window into her soul. They show her as a passionate, honest, and deeply introspective woman. Her words offer comfort and inspiration to anyone who has ever faced adversity. She is an inspiring figure for all women, and her legacy will continue to inspire future generations.
We hope you have enjoyed reading these Frida Kahlo quotes and that they have inspired you in some way. Did any of these quotes resonate with you? Write your opinion in the comment section below. Share these quotes with your friends and let them know what an amazing woman Frida Kahlo was.
Read more: motivational quotes for women’s success | motivational strong woman quotes |