Surrealism, a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, was to “resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality.” Artists painted unnerving, illogical scenes with photographic precision, created strange creatures from everyday objects and developed painting techniques that allowed the unconscious to express itself.

Frida Kahlo became a Surrealist painter through her life and pain. Andre Breton, the founder of Surrealism, was fascinated by Kahlo’s art. He labeled her a Surrealist because she utilized the elements European Surrealists used to convey their ideas. However, Frida Kahlo never intended to be part of the movement. She painted her life like she did because it was how she felt.

Frida was in touch with nature because her father encouraged her to share his curiosity for all living things—stones, flowers, animals, birds, insects, and shells. And she had the free will to paint her inner distorted world.