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Mexico's Frida Khalo

Mexico's Frida Kahlo

The artistry of Mexico will inspire students as they create a portrait of Frida Kahlo.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

Steps

  • Step 1

    Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) was a Mexican painter best known for her colorful self-portraits. Her father was German of Hungarian descent and her mother was Mexican of Spanish and Native American descent. She explored her identity by frequently depicting binary opposites: the colonial European side and the Indigenous Mexican side. Have students research her life and her art. Have them look at some examples of her paintings and the symbolism behind them, such as "Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird" (1940), "Self-Portrait on the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States" (1932), and "Self-Portrait as a Tehuana" (1943). 

  • Step 2

    Ask students to ceate a portrait of Frida Kahlo using oil pastels on construction paper. They might choose to use a representation of Mexican culture as a background (such as the image of a serape in the pictured image) or they might be inspired to imitate backgrounds seen in Kahlo's paintings. If desired, they can cut out the portrait, give it a matting, and then glue it to the background.

  • Step 3

    Have students present their art and discuss the imagery in their work and some facts they learned about Frida Kahlo.

Standards

ARTS: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding. 

ARTS: Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art. 

Adaptations

Soon after Frida Kahlo married, she began to wear the traditional Tehuana dress that became her trademark. This dress originated among indigenous Zapotec women on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Have students investigate the region, the Zapotec people, and the dress that became associated with Kahlo.

Frida Kahlo married, then divorced, then remarried Mexican mural painter Diego Rivera (1886-1957). Have students learn about his life and view some of his works.