Her life was suffering. After an accident while riding in a bus she was left with a lifetime of pain. Although giving up was not on the table. While being bedridden with her whole torso in a cast, she still managed to create. Her father constructed a small easel and a mirror that she could use for self portraits, of which she painted many. Yet there was much of her short life when she could painfully walk. Morphine made it a little more bearable.
After the accident at age 18 she followed her childhood dream of being an artist. She devoted her life to creating with her whole being. Early in her pursuit, she met Diego Rivera, a well-known muralist in Mexico. Their marriage soon ensued, despite him being 20 years her senior. She refused to live in his shadow. Her career was always her own. He was very critical of her work, but she ignored him.
Her work was very complex, much of it combined surrealist elements mixed with Mexican folklore. Besides her often gruesome view of life and death which she expressed in her surrealist pieces, she never left focus of love in her work.
Fridas' career jumped in leaps and bounds after given the opportunity to exhibit at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. Next stop Paris. She was now outshining Diego. Her popularity had gained traction in both Europe and North America. Pain just didn't stop her.
At the end of her life, at the age of 47 she was finally offered an exhibit in Mexico. At the time, she was bedridden. She had to be taken to the gallery in her bed. Her life was full of love and beauty.
I had the opportunity to go to an exhibit of her work several years ago at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. To say it was an eye opening experience would be the least I could say about it. The pain of her self portraits were intense giving a shock to my body. The large lush florals contrasted them with a delicate softness.
There's an excellent biography that has a very comprehensive detailing of her life. Subsequently, a movie was made based on it. See the link below.
https://www.amazon.ca/Frida-Kahlo-Luis-Mart%EF%BF%BDn-Lozano/dp/3836594854/ref=sr_1_1?
Viva La Vida