Fridah Kahlo Distinctively Visual Analysis Essay

Professor Ferris Williams
Art History
2 December 2013

For my Formal Analysis I decided to choose the painting that Fridah Kahlo did in 1946 entitled “The Little Deer”. When examining this piece of work I see the deer jumping and running through the forest in action. The deer has a female human style face which is somewhat interesting because Kahlo uses the same type face when doing self-portraits of herself. When viewing this piece I see the arrows striking the deer and blood running out and the dull face that the deer/human has which at first sends a tone as sorrow or pain or some kind of struggle. In the back ground we see the ocean with what seems to be daytime but also a lightning storm going on which gives me a little different look
at it. I chose this piece of work because it honestly just caught my eye when flipping through the book. I am an outdoorsy type person who enjoys action type things with passion in them and this piece just seems to fit my personality to key. By viewing this piece, Kahlo uses a tree line on both sides of the deer running all the way to the back ground like a “trail” of some sort leading to the ocean where the storm is happening. Kahlo uses this as the “vanishing point” in the work by making it the brightest area on this work of art. Kahlo directs our eyes to the vanishing point by using these tree lines on both sides and the “trail” like path, which leads back to where the ocean starts in the background which also gives a type of “balance” to this work of art which will be discussed later on. Kahlo doesn’t use very smooth linear strokes with this piece which doesn’t give certain things nice tight edges.
Such as the trees or the tree branches or the antlers of the deer or even the arrows really just don’t seem to have much of a “precise” type work to it. The linear structure of the fallen branch in the very front, also with the vertical trees all in parallel lines on both sides as well as the deer which seems to maybe be running down the trail all sends our eyes as a viewer once again to where the vanishing point is with the piece. With the trees, arrows, antlers, trail, and even the storm in the background give an example of multiple vertical brushstrokes with what seems to me to be a very heavy impasto like painting with all of the dark colors of the deer, trees or pathway that eventually lead to a brighter side in the “vanishing point”. Kahlo’s choice of colors for the trees, the deer, or the arrows striking the deer captures much detail, with the brown of the deer and the red implying “blood” of the arrows piercing through the deer. The colors eventually get lighter and brighter as you get further into the piece but I feel as though Kahlo is still giving a “sorrow” or disturbed type image with all of the dark colors and shades but even though the blue of the ocean and sky that gives brightness to this piece, there is still a yellow stroke of a lightning storm that seems to dull the mood back to how it
was. By using the line of trees surrounding the trail and the very tight view of the ocean in the back, Kahlo doesn’t imply much of “space” in this piece. This gives a very closed image with not much room for anything else. Kahlo uses a linear perspective by once again using the tree line and trail behind the deer towards the ocean and storm. This type of tight space used and linear perspective used is what obviously makes the deer the focal point of this piece, which also leads to the symbolism I feel as though Kahlo is trying to give off. Kahlo was a part of a bus accident which left her troublesome the rest of her life. Her worst end of the injury was to her neck and spinal area, and I feel as though the first arrow on the far left which is the bloodiest is what Kahlo is using to symbolize that injury which happens to also be on the deer neck and spinal area. There are a total of 9 arrows in the deer which I also believe she uses to symbolizes other sicknesses or injuries that she continued to have throughout her life, but her face used in this piece symbolizes great strength that she has to be able to have to endure such pain and also 35 operations. The material used for this art work is oil on canvas. This oil paint technique used with Masonite as the material. This piece is 100% handmade oil based painting on canvas with no digital or printing of images used in it. This process of painting is used with different pigments bound with drying oil. This type of painting is usually used with a paint brush and stays wet longer than others would, which allows the artist to be able to go back and make changes such as color, shape, or texture. This technique is broadly used throughout the world and one of the most popular choices by artists and has been for a long time. In conclusion, I initially viewed this piece as something that was symbolizing hatred or a violent type of meaning, but now that I have viewed it over and over again and studied upon it and the artist I now understand its purpose. I feel as though this piece is a fantastic self-portrait she has done to symbolize the events that have taken place in her life. This piece used illustrates everything she has been through in my opinion. The main bloodiest arrow in my opinion illustrates her bus accident and the other 8 arrows illustrate the post effects she went through after it such as the operations, sicknesses or diseases. My favorite part of this piece though would have to be the facial expression she puts on the deer. Even though all the bad things and situations that she went through and that continued to stay with her, she symbolizes her strength and passion to stay the course and keep moving forward without giving up.