FRIDA KAHLO & DIEGO RIVERA

The lives of artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera are condensed and stylized into a pictorial biography in this translated title from Spain.

The historical context in which Kahlo and Rivera worked, redolent of new freedoms in post-dictatorship Mexico, is glossed over, and for readers to be denied more than a teasing glimpse at this rich cultural shift is somewhat frustrating. Rather more attention is paid to tracing the lives, careers, and thematic signatures of both artists as individuals. Kahlo’s desire to escape the confines of her earthly self through art is gently juxtaposed with Rivera’s expansive, revolutionary ideals, but these underlying complexities, too, are given short shrift, as are the nuances of their eventual partnership. The text hints at explosive passion, mutual respect and admiration, and a balance of independence and artistic symbiosis that cannot be contained within this format, which comes across almost as the elevator pitch to a much more developed story. Some of their contemporaries are introduced along with notable events and figures of the time. Where this book excels is in its illustrations, which imbue the figures depicted with all of the vibrant, eccentric verve that their real-life counterparts carried. Several pages include quotes from each artist, but no sources are provided for them or for any of the facts presented.

A lackluster attempt at introducing readers to two extraordinary partners.