Frida Kahlo. Level B 1

Read the text and answer the questions. Choose a, b or c.

Kahlo was a Mexican painter who was born on 6th July 1907. She spent most of her life in her home known as La Casa Azul or the Blue House, which was in Coyoacán. At the age of six, she had Polio, a disease which made one of her legs much thinner than the other. Because of this, she wore long colourful dresses for most of her life. In 1922 she entered one of Mexico’s top schools, where she was only one of 35 students. When she was 18 years old, she was involved in an accident. She was on a bus when it crashed into a tram. She suffered terrible injuries and only just survived. She managed to recover and walk again, but she was in pain for most of the rest of her life. Throughout her life, she had her back operated on thirty-five times. For three months after the accident, she had to stay in

bed, so she started painting to pass the time. She painted many self-portraits saying ‘I paint myself because I am often alone, and I am the subject that I know best.’ She was influenced by the culture of the native people of Mexico, using bright colours and dramatic symbols. Kahlo decided she wanted to be an artist, so she began communicating with the well-known Mexican artist Diego Rivera, asking him for advice. Rivera realised Kahlo was very talented and he encouraged her. They became very close and married in 1929. However, their marriage had many problems. In 1939 the French poet André Breton invited Kahlo to Paris where she had her first exhibition. The Louvre bought one of her paintings, and it was the first work of art by a twentieth century Mexican artist to be bought by the famous museum. The Louvre painting was the only artistic success Kahlo had in her lifetime. She died in 1954 and her work was not appreciated until decades after her death. Until then, she was only remembered as Rivera’s wife. In the early 1980s, the artistic style of Mexico started coming into fashion which brought Kahlo’s paintings into the public eye. In 1982 Kahlo’s work was exhibited for the first time outside of Mexico at a successful exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. At the same time Hayden Herrera wrote the book Frida: A biography of the Frida Kahlo. This bestseller was turned into a film in 2002 starring Salma Hayek.

What is true about Kahlo?

Read the text and answer the questions. Choose a, b or c.

Kahlo was a Mexican painter who was born on 6th July 1907. She spent most of her life in her home known as La Casa Azul or the Blue House, which was in Coyoacán. At the age of six, she had Polio, a disease which made one of her legs much thinner than the other. Because of this, she wore long colourful dresses for most of her life. In 1922 she entered one of Mexico’s top schools, where she was only one of 35 students. When she was 18 years old, she was involved in an accident. She was on a bus when it crashed into a tram. She suffered terrible injuries and only just survived. She managed to recover and walk again, but she was in pain for most of the rest of her life. Throughout her life, she had her back operated on thirty-five times. For three months after the accident, she had to stay in bed, so she started painting to pass the time. She painted many self-portraits saying ‘I paint myself because I am often alone, and I am the subject that I know best.’ She was influenced by the culture of the native people of Mexico, using bright colours and dramatic symbols. Kahlo decided she wanted to be an artist, so she began communicating with the well-known Mexican artist Diego Rivera, asking him for advice. Rivera realised Kahlo was very talented and he encouraged her. They became very close and married in 1929. However, their marriage had many problems. In 1939 the French poet André Breton invited Kahlo to Paris where she had her first exhibition. The Louvre bought one of her paintings, and it was the first work of art by a twentieth century Mexican artist to be bought by the famous museum. The Louvre painting was the only artistic success Kahlo had in her lifetime. She died in 1954 and her work was not appreciated until decades after her death. Until then, she was only remembered as Rivera’s wife. In the early 1980s, the artistic style of Mexico started coming into fashion which brought Kahlo’s paintings into the public eye. In 1982 Kahlo’s work was exhibited for the first time outside of Mexico at a successful exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. At the same time Hayden Herrera wrote the book Frida: A biography of the Frida Kahlo. This bestseller was turned into a film in 2002 starring Salma Hayek.

Why did Kahlo paint selfportraits?

Read the text and answer the questions. Choose a, b or c.

Kahlo was a Mexican painter who was born on 6th July 1907. She spent most of her life in her home known as La Casa Azul or the Blue House, which was in Coyoacán. At the age of six, she had Polio, a disease which made one of her legs much thinner than the other. Because of this, she wore long colourful dresses for most of her life. In 1922 she entered one of Mexico’s top schools, where she was only one of 35 students. When she was 18 years old, she was involved in an accident. She was on a bus when it crashed into a tram. She suffered terrible injuries and only just survived. She managed to recover and walk again, but she was in pain for most of the rest of her life. Throughout her life, she had her back operated on thirty-five times. For three months after the accident, she had to stay in bed, so she started painting to pass the time. She painted many self-portraits saying ‘I paint myself because I am often alone, and I am the subject that I know best.’ She was influenced by the culture of the native people of Mexico, using bright colours and dramatic symbols. Kahlo decided she wanted to be an artist, so she began communicating with the well-known Mexican artist Diego Rivera, asking him for advice. Rivera realised Kahlo was very talented and he encouraged her. They became very close and married in 1929. However, their marriage had many problems. In 1939 the French poet André Breton invited Kahlo to Paris where she had her first exhibition. The Louvre bought one of her paintings, and it was the first work of art by a twentieth century Mexican artist to be bought by the famous museum. The Louvre painting was the only artistic success Kahlo had in her lifetime. She died in 1954 and her work was not appreciated until decades after her death. Until then, she was only remembered as Rivera’s wife. In the early 1980s, the artistic style of Mexico started coming into fashion which brought Kahlo’s paintings into the public eye. In 1982 Kahlo’s work was exhibited for the first time outside of Mexico at a successful exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. At the same time Hayden Herrera wrote the book Frida: A biography of the Frida Kahlo. This bestseller was turned into a film in 2002 starring Salma Hayek.

What happened in Paris?

Read the text and answer the questions. Choose a, b or c.

Kahlo was a Mexican painter who was born on 6th July 1907. She spent most of her life in her home known as La Casa Azul or the Blue House, which was in Coyoacán. At the age of six, she had Polio, a disease which made one of her legs much thinner than the other. Because of this, she wore long colourful dresses for most of her life. In 1922 she entered one of Mexico’s top schools, where she was only one of 35 students. When she was 18 years old, she was involved in an accident. She was on a bus when it crashed into a tram. She suffered terrible injuries and only just survived. She managed to recover and walk again, but she was in pain for most of the rest of her life. Throughout her life, she had her back operated on thirty-five times. For three months after the accident, she had to stay in bed, so she started painting to pass the time. She painted many self-portraits saying ‘I paint myself because I am often alone, and I am the subject that I know best.’ She was influenced by the culture of the native people of Mexico, using bright colours and dramatic symbols. Kahlo decided she wanted to be an artist, so she began communicating with the well-known Mexican artist Diego Rivera, asking him for advice. Rivera realised Kahlo was very talented and he encouraged her. They became very close and married in 1929. However, their marriage had many problems. In 1939 the French poet André Breton invited Kahlo to Paris where she had her first exhibition. The Louvre bought one of her paintings, and it was the first work of art by a twentieth century Mexican artist to be bought by the famous museum. The Louvre painting was the only artistic success Kahlo had in her lifetime. She died in 1954 and her work was not appreciated until decades after her death. Until then, she was only remembered as Rivera’s wife. In the early 1980s, the artistic style of Mexico started coming into fashion which brought Kahlo’s paintings into the public eye. In 1982 Kahlo’s work was exhibited for the first time outside of Mexico at a successful exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. At the same time Hayden Herrera wrote the book Frida: A biography of the Frida Kahlo. This bestseller was turned into a film in 2002 starring Salma Hayek.

Why did Kahlo become famous?