The artwork entitled “Sun and Life” is a creation of the artist Frida Kahlo, completed in the year 1947. The medium used for this symbolic painting is oil on masonite, measuring 40 by 50 centimeters. It is recognized as part of the Naïve Art movement, specifically related to Primitivism, a term used to describe artworks that are characterized by a simple, childlike quality and often include elements of folklore or mythology.
The artwork is a rich and vivid representation imbued with symbolism. At its core is a sun with a stoic face encircled by layers of red and green, which emits an aura of life-giving energy. Surrounding this central figure are pod-like forms, which appear to be organic in nature, almost like fruits or flowers in various states of openness, suggesting stages of life and growth. They sprout from a unified base at the bottom, where roots and stems intermingle, emphasizing the interconnectedness of life and the natural world. The colors are intense and earthy, with the greens and yellows suggesting fertility and the reds evoking the blood or the force of life itself.
The painting is densely packed with these vegetal forms that almost seem to pulsate with life, and Frida Kahlo masterfully intertwines the botanical with the human by infusing the sun with a human-like face. This face at the center of the artwork appears serene, possibly signifying a divine presence or the personification of nature’s life-force. Overall, “Sun and Life” is a complex tableau, intertwining themes of nature, life, and the cosmos into a deeply personal and mythopoetic vision characteristic of Kahlo’s oeuvre.
