“I paint flowers so they don’t die”
An olfactory journey around Frida’s imaginarium


Frida loved plants and nature and considered the garden of Casa Azul a place of well-being and inspiration. Flowers were everywhere, in her hair, framing her proud sight, typical of the strong pop icon she then became. Flowers and nature are everywhere in his works. The painter’s love for plants, fruit and flowers is expressed above all in still lifes. She loved using local fruits and flowers as a means of enhancing Mexican heritage and nationality.
The garden recalled the nineteenth-century European taste for ferns and palms to which were added native plants such as agaves, cacti and prickly pears, which grew together with quince trees and apricots, pomegranates and oranges. Flowers and fruits of the garden were then used to create compositions on the large dining table, where the protagonists were blue and white iris, dahlias, calla lilies, violets and marigolds. Often the artist kept flowers among the pages of books and left them to dry. These natural elements have been so important that the Botanical Garden of New York has dedicated her an Exhibition in 2015.
The symbolism of flowers, plants and animals in her work is very rich and we limit ourselves here only to some suggestions: the magnolia, a widespread flower in Mexico, valued by the Aztecs, inebriating and short-lived (like Frida), as well as the Hibiscus. The cactus, her mexicanidad. Bougainvillea and peacock tail as an expression of the vanity of transvestism and the openness, typical of Frida. Colibrì, in which Frida loved to identify herself, was worshipped by Maya and Aztecs, while dahlias, symbol of femininity, gratitude, freedom, are very present in Mexico. Brambles and thorns symbolize the pain to which the artist was subjected. And then daisies, callas, lilies, azaleas, sterlizias, chrysanthemums and finally, for us extremely significant, the acanthus leaves, symbol of rebirth.
Have yourself a wonderful, colorful, fragrant, magical journey discovering this unique artist! Let yourself be inspired!