Playing With Paper Painters
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The dark, complex, and controversial works of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and her husband, painter Diego Rivera, might seem a bit inaccessible for young people. But a paper-doll book devoted to the two artists and designed for children offers an unusual and innovative way for children to learn about the lives, work, times, and dress of the these art-world icons.
The charming, old-fashioned book, illustrated by Francisco Estebanez, features punch-out, two-dimensional renderings of Kahlo and Rivera, and a variety of gorgeously drawn ensembles for the dolls to wear. For Kahlo, there are peasant skirts and floral headdresses; for Rivera, overalls and suit jackets. Much of Kahlo’s clothing is copied from her self-portraits or from paintings by Rivera. Bilingual captions explain the artistic and historical context of the clothing.
The first dress in the book, for Kahlo, is short and rust colored. The caption notes that it came from an early work by the artist and divulges that she started fibbing about her age while still a teenager: “Frida’s first self-portrait, painted in 1926, shows her wearing this dress; she dedicated the work to her boyfriend, Alejandro, whom she told she was 17 when she was really 19.”
The notes alongside the traditional Mexican outfit that Kahlo wore for her second wedding to Rivera read: “In 1940, on Diego’s 54th birthday, Frida and Diego were married for the second time in San Francisco, California. Although Frida had been seriously ill during the preceding months, she nonetheless chose her dress with great care.”
When the pictures mentioned are available for public viewing, the museums where they are on display are noted. Unfortunately, the only paintings referenced in the book that are in New York are part of private collections. But next time you visit the San Francisco Modern Art Museum you may see Kahlo’s sweeping emerald gown paired with a red shawl and a pair of turquoise necklaces. And a high-necked, frothy white lace dress appears on the canvases “The Two Fridas” (1939) at the Modern Art Museum in Mexico City.
$22 at Boca Grande, 49 Prince St., 212-334-7350.
