Rationale:
High school can be a tough time for adolescents. As they
walk the tenuous line between childhood and adulthood, they
are trying to discover their own place in the world. One of
the ways to achieve this is through the study of art and
artists of another culture and relating it to their own
experiences. In this unit, the students learn about the
journey made by Mexican artists of this century as they
discover their identity as Mexicans and as artists.
PART I: UNDERSTANDING
CULTURAL CONTEXT
LESSON I
National Standards for Arts Education:
Visual Arts Standard 2a: Students will demonstrate
the ability to form and defend judgments about the
characteristics and structures to accomplish personal
purposes in art.
Terminology:
autorretrato
Procedure:
I. Show students the painting Self Portrait with
Monkeys by Frida Kahlo (1943).
Fig. 1 Self Portrait with
Monkeys by Frida
Kahlo (1943)
Conduct a discussion by using Aesthetic Scanning by Harry
S. Broudy:
Discuss the painting’s Sensory Properties (Art
Elements) by identifying specific characteristics
in line, shape, color, texture, etc.
“Can you point out and describe some of the lines in
the painting?”
Analyze the painting’s Formal Properties (Art
Principles) to determine how the artist has
organized and unified the composition to express an idea
and/or feeling. Include in the questioning, unity,
variety, repetition, contrast, balance, dominance, and
rhythm.
“Are there colors or shapes that are repeated?”
“What type of balance has she used-symmetrical or
asymmetrical?”
In addressing the work’s Technical
Properties, invite the students to speculate on
the medium, tools, and equipment Kahlo used as well as her
specific painting techniques.
“Can you find areas in the painting where she used the
dry brush technique?”
Finally, discuss the painting’s Expressive
Properties. Have the students respond to the
emotional qualities expressed.
“What feelings does this self portrait evoke because of
her use of color?”
“Why do you think she included monkeys in a self
portrait?”
III. Share some background on Frida Kahlo and the
painting:
Frida painted this self portrait after her 1940 remarriage
to Diego Rivera. He was away much of the time working
on the construction of Anahuacalli, his temple of
pre-Hispanic art built on Frida’s land in the Pedregal
district near Coyoacan. In this painting, as in most
of Kahlo’s self portraits, she expressed her feeling by
using symbolism rather than her facial expression.
Kahlo’s two pet monkeys, Fulang Chang and Caimito de
Guayabal are believed to symbolize her loneliness and the
Bird of Paradise flower to the left of her head implies her
sexuality. Kahlo often depicted herself wearing
Mexican clothing and jewelry and, in this painting, the
embroidered design on her blouse is a pre Hispanic symbol
that represented movement.
IV. Have the students read articles on Frida Kahlo in
a variety of sources. Direct their reading by having
them record what they find out into their
sketchbook-journals in both writing and visual images.
V. View the painting again.
Ask “Now that you know more about the artist, what do
you think was Kahlo’s inspiration for this self
portrait?”
VI. Show slides or prints of Mexican dress, flora, and
fauna. Also show images of Kahlo in her home that
contained an extensive collection of Mexican preHispanic
artifacts and folk art and with her animals.
Fig. 2 Festival
Parade in Oaxaca, Mexico (1998); photograph by Sandi
Hammonds
Fig. 3 Festival
Parade in Oaxaca, Mexico (2001); photograph by Sandi
Hammonds
Fig. 4 Market in
Mexico City, Mexico (2004); photograph by Sandi
Hammonds
Conclude by asking:
“What does she incorporate into this self portrait that
tells you what is important to her?”
Lesson Resources:
- Billeter, Erika; Images of Mexico; Benteli Catalog Edition, 1988.
- Burke, Marcus B.; Mexican Art Masterpieces; Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 1998.
- del Conde, Teresa; Voices of Mexico, No. 39, June 1997, “Frida Kahlo Once Again”.
- Herrera, Hayden; Frida Kahlo: The Paintings; Harper & Row, Publishers, 1999.
- Letterman, Andrea; Frida Kahlo 1907-1954; Benedikt Taschen Germany, 1992.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries, New York, 1990.
- Scholastic Magazine, March 1991, Vol. 21, no. 5, “Frida Kahlo”.
- Zamora, Martha; Frida Kahlo: The Brush of Anguish; Chronicle Books; 1990.