Frida Kahlo: The Brush of Anguish [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Martha Zamora (Author), Marilyn Sode Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 1993

Mexican author Martha Zamora captures the essence of one of Mexico's most prolific and talented painters in a single comprehensive volume. Seventy-five of Frida Kahlo's paintings, reproduced here in lavish color, accompany numerous historical photographs and the author's descriptive text, chronicling the significant episodes in Kahlo's life, from childhood to her untimely death: the consequences and aftermath of a tragic bus accident in her adolescence; her tempestuous marriage to the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera; her travels to the United States and abroad; her political convictions and her relationships with the great leaders and artistic personalities of her time. Kahlo's flamboyant and highly individual personal style, so eloquently reflected in her many self-portraits, has gained her an enthusiastic following worldwide. For Kahlo's many admirers, as well as for those new to her work this authoritative and richly illustrated volume will be both an excellent reference and a compelling look at her passionate and often disturbing art.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Frida Kahlo's cult reputation has been blossoming for over ten years, particularly among feminists. Rumors that Madonna is planning a film about the artist will probably generate mainstream interest in, if not understanding of, her disturbingly personal works. The complexities of Kahlo's painful, joyful, notorious, and gay life are well presented in the text. Despite obvious affection for the subject, Zamora neither glosses over Kahlo's nonconformity nor tries to make a martyr of her. Yet however fair, these biographical notes are sparse and anecdotal, whetting the newcomer's interest but not offering much to the informed reader. More important here is the collection of 75 color plates of the artist's original works. Of interest to the initiated because they comprise largely seldom-seen works in various Mexican collections, these plates represent the best collection now available of Kahlo's work. Recommended for most collections as a companion to Hayden Herrera'a Frida ( LJ 1/15/83), a readable and complete biography.
- Eric Bryant, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

The complexities of Kahlo's painful, joyful, notorious, and gay life are well presented in the text. . . these plates represent the best collection now available of Kahlo's work. Library Journal --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• ISBN-10: 0811804852
• ASIN: B000C4SMSQ
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,686,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get the Spanish version, January 21, 2003

By 

Enrique Torres "Rico" (San Diegotitlan, Califas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Frida Kahlo: Brush of Anguish (Paperback)

This edition is a pretty good overview of Frida's life with some outstanding colorful reproductions of her works. There is also a very satisfying collection of photographs, both in black and white and color, to cure the voyeur in you to see Frida as she really lived. For example, if you enlarge the back cover shot here you can see the cigarette in her left hand that she was apparently usually without. If you thought it was only the pain of her life that resulted in very few photographs of her smiling think again. The results of her heavy smoking habit produced a poor set of teeth that were blackened and not very flaterring; hence the rare smiling picture. The book has some rare photographs, including one of her laughing and her hideous teeth. The text is easy to follow and gives a whirlwind tour of Frida's life, complete with recollections by friends and other anecdotes. Included is a chronology, list of illustrations and a selected bibliography. My big complaint about this book, and it may you serve you if you are able to read Spanish, is that it is a short version of the original. I have run down a copy of the original Spanish book, "Frida: El Pincel de la Angustia" and it is highly recommended over this translated version. I cannot over state this recommendation . This version is almost like an abridged text by comparison. Case in point, the original has nearly four times as many pages! The abundance of pages is not filler either as it has many more photographs, paintings and more importantly, text. If you hunt around you can find the original at an affordable price. All in all this is a good addition, but not edition, to your library on Mexcian Art or personal Frida Kahlo book collection.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Summary, June 26, 2000

By 

Jose - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frida Kahlo: Brush of Anguish (Paperback)

This is a good book for those people who are interested in a short biography on one of Mexico's most respected and well known icons. Zamora's book not only gives a brief vivd account on Frida's life but also illustrates some of her famous work. The one down side I found to this book is that Zamora does not talk about in more detail some of Frida's paintings which are shown like "Four Inhabitants in Mexico City," but all in all this is a good book which I found very interesting.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, March 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Frida Kahlo: Brush of Anguish (Paperback)

Frida Kahlo is my favorite artist, so of course I love this book. Other reasons I love it: the pictures, which show Frida's exquisite beauty, the paintings (not any I haven't seen, though I still love seeing them), and the story, which told some things I did not know. Although I really like this book, it was not very in-depth. I already knew most of the information that was in it.