Personal style became another creative outlet for Kahlo, who began painting during her recovery from the bus accident. The purpose of her clothing choices fell two-fold after the collision: to effectively conceal her physical disability, and to showcase her radical political beliefs. Kahlo started wearing her own interpretation of traditional Tehuana dress: full skirts, embroidered blouses and regal coiffure associated with a matriarchal society from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, Mexico. ... The long flowing skirts covered her wasted leg, and their motion helped conceal her limp. Often wearing flowers and using them in her paintings as a celebration of her national heritage, their symbolism of fertility and fecundity was also pertinent to Kahlo who was unable to have children herself as a result of the accident in her teenage years. Kahlo was deeply influenced by indigenous Mexican culture, which is apparent in her use of bright colors and dramatic symbolism. She frequently included the symbolic monkey. ... She combined elements of the classic religious Mexican tradition with surrealist renderings.

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3 years ago