The Wounded Table
| Spanish: La mesa herida | |
 | |
| Artist | Frida Kahlo |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 122 cm × 244 cm (48 in × 96 in) |
| Condition | lost |
The Wounded Table (La mesa herida in Spanish) is an oil painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Although lost in 1955, 3 photos of this painting were taken between 1940 and 1944, allowing it to be commented.[1]
In The Wounded Table, Kahlo is no longer a bewildered child but an adult-sized Kahlo sitting at the table. Kahlo bleeds as a martyr for Mexicanidad, she comments on the performative aspects of Mexican identity. It supports Roger Bartr’s analysis of post-revolutionary culture. In the Wounded Table, Kahlo parodies the stereotypes of mexicanness.[2]
A Tehuana-clad Kahlo shares a long table with the cord- and dynamite-wrapped male figure and the skeleton of Four Inhabitants. Her long dark hair is lifted up and draped over the skeleton's arm, tying the two figures together. Seated between Kahlo and the skeleton is a small Nayarit sculpture. The long arm of the sculpture extends toward Kahlo and, near her shoulder, merges with hers. Blood oozes from wounds in the table, the man's feet, and the skeleton. It pools near the hem of the Tehuana dress and splatters onto the skirt. Blood is never far removed from the heart, and in this particular work the skeleton is touched by the bloodheart linking the skeletal death figure with the heart-life.[3]
References
- ↑ Dr. Remund, C. Mariella. "Frida Kahlo's Wounded Table". Retrieved December 12, 2015.
- ↑ Andersen, Corrine (2009). "Remembrance of an Open Wound: Frida Kahlo and Post-revolutionary Mexican Identity". South Atlantic Review 74 (4): 119–130. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
- ↑ Helland, Janice. "Aztec Imagery in Frida Kahlo's Paintings: Indigenity and Political Commitment". Woman's Art Journal 30 (2): 8–13. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
| ||||||||||||||||||