Frida Kahlo And Judith Leyster

Do we truly know who we are? How we are perceived by those around us? In a society that is over run and dominated by the perception of what is perfect, what is right rules out the true beauty a person has to offer by just being oneself. In this paper I will examine as well as explain two pieces of artwork that share identical themes within the culture of self-portraits in terms of appearance as well as personality. The first painting is a piece that is named simply Self-Portrait created by the artist Judith Leyster. The piece is dated to be created in the year of 1630. It was a painting of Ms. Leyster herself sitting at an easel painting. Self-portraits were created to depict one’s self in their natural habitat, whether that be an artist painting
The similarities of a woman’s emotions being an evident and influential characteristic within both pieces of art remains the same and strong. The Two Fridas embodies emotion but on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, due to the piece is driven from heart ache and despair. The painting was created during the time Frida Kahlo was going through a divorce with her husband. The portrait shows two women who look the same but are dressed differently and hold different personalities, although both woman embody Ms. Kahlo one as a strong independent version of herself verses a more fragile heartbroken version of herself. In this painting both versions of Frida are to be holding each other’s hand that resemble loneliness but also strength that can be found within one’s self. Both Fridas have visible hearts within their chests, one that is healed and whole, while one is torn and cut open dripping blood from the heartache of her pain filled divorce. The characteristics within the piece are those that stand out from the emotion, the ones that explain the heart ache Frida is feeling but also the strength she will find on the other side to heal herself alone. The Two Fridas are filled with many different color schemes and patterns from warm to cool and light to dark for example the attire of both Fridas is one of a simple white color scheme compared to her alter ego in a much more vibrant color choice of dress. The “Traditional Frida” that is pictured as the strong independent self of Kahlo is wearing a traditional Tehuana dress that is painted to represent the culture profoundly including the bright color choices that are found in a traditional style of dress. Kahlo using the colors allows for the eyes to be caught but also represents a culture and a