Book review: Frida Kahlo At Home by Suzanne Barbezat

Part biography, part reflection of Frida Kahlo’s work, this book examines the painter’s life.

Two accidents altered her life: one at 18 when a tram crashed into a bus she was travelling on.

She was impaled on a metal pole and had multiple fractures including her spine and pelvis.

The injuries left her in pain for the rest of her life. The other accident was meeting the muralist and womaniser Diego Rivera.

She married him twice despite his continual affairs including one with her sister.

Kahlo carved her own path. She also had affairs with men and women. She created art unlike anything that anyone else was making.

She wanted to leave her mark on the world and this is reflected in her numerous self-portraits.

Mexico was home to Frida and it ran through her, in how she dressed, how she decorated her home, which landscapes appealed to her and the art she collected.

Kahlo’s family home is now a museum to showcase her work and how she lived.

Frida Kahlo At Home by Suzanne Barbezat Frances. Lincoln, €29.40.