The Broken Column

from the sources

• The Broken Column is an oil on masonite painting by Frida Kahlo made in 1944, shortly after she had spinal surgery. en.wikipedia.org

  “The Broken Column (La Columna Rota in Spanish) is an oil on masonite painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, painted in 1944 shortly after she had spinal surgery to correct on-going problems which had resulted from a serious traffic accident when she was 18 years old.”

• The original painting is held at the Museo Dolores Olmedo in Xochimilco, Mexico City. en.wikipedia.org

  “The original is housed at the Museo Dolores Olmedo in Xochimilco, Mexico City, Mexico.”

• Kahlo appears alone in the painting, unlike many of her other works that include animals and other people. en.wikipedia.org

  “As with many of her self-portraits, pain and suffering is the focus of the work, though unlike many of her other works, which include parrots, dogs, monkeys and other people, in this painting, Kahlo is alone.”

• Kahlo's solitary figure on a cracked, barren landscape is read as symbolizing her isolation and the external forces affecting her life. en.wikipedia.org

  “Her solitary presence on a cracked and barren landscape symbolizes both her isolation and the external forces which have impacted her life.”

• Her torso is shown split open, echoing the ravines in the earth behind her, with a crumbling Ionic column in place of her spine. en.wikipedia.org

  “In the painting Kahlo's nude torso is split, replicating the ravine-laced earth behind her and revealing a crumbling, Ionic column in place of her spine.”

• The cloth wrapped around her lower body is interpreted as echoing Christian imagery of Christ's sheet, as do the nails piercing her face and body. en.wikipedia.org

  “The cloth which wraps the lower part of her body and is grasped in her hands, is not a sign of modesty but instead mirrors the Christian iconography of Christ's sheet, as do the nails which are piercing her face and body.”

• By 1944 Kahlo's doctors had recommended a steel corset in place of the plaster casts she had previously worn. en.wikipedia.org

  “By 1944, Kahlo's doctors had recommended that she wear a steel corset instead of the plaster casts she had worn previously.”

• A physician writing in the British Medical Journal regards Kahlo's work as a valuable tool for understanding patients' pain. en.wikipedia.org

  “Desmond O’Neill, a physician writing for the British Medical Journal, describes Frida’s work as a vital tool in the understanding of pain in patients.”