Spanish, traditional artist Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderon, simply known as Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) and Australian, contemporary artist Peter Booth (1940- ) are two artists who produced works in different historical and cultural contexts.
Growing up and spending most of her life in Mexico, Kahlo was heavily influenced by traditional Mexican painting styles, which she used to express her inner feelings and emotions, revealing the pain and suffering she experienced. Kahlo represented her different personalities through the use of Mexican and European culture. Kahlo has been recognised as a surrealistic painter, although at the time she was unaware that this style existed. Unlike Kahlo, Booth’s work was impacted by vast industrial landscapes in his hometown, Sheffield, England, and the bombing sites of World War II, which he portrayed through the use of expressionism. Although Booth did not experience war first-hand, he took interest and viewed it through media and was influenced by footage of the Vietnam War in the 1970’s and the Bosnian War in the 1990’s.
Events that affected Kahlo and Booth, and life experiences became each artist’s subject matter. These influences also affected their artwork, work practices and the development of their works’ aesthetic qualities. Both artists developed distinctive styles that communicated to viewers their feelings, thoughts and fantasies about the world around them and the events that occurred in their lives.
Kahlo and Booth did not share many similarities; however both artists suffered from inner emotional turmoil, which they tried to depict in their images and communicate with viewers. Kahlo was more influenced by how surrounding