Episode description

“We’re talking here about a woman who was Mexican, dark skinned, disabled and queer, who produced art and didn’t allow her disabilities to define her. She defined who she was on her own terms,"

So says Circe Henestrosa, fashion curator, Frida Kahlo scholar and co curator of Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up.

Circe joins Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist in discussion about the Mexican artist known for her self-portraits and her distinctive look - the dresses and flowered hair, the monobrow, the piercing stare.

Born in 1907, Kahlo's life was a collage of strength, beauty and pain. She survived polio and a bus crash that should have killed her, as well as a complex, passionate marriage to fellow artist Diego Rivera.

Nominator Jessie Burton celebrates Frida Kahlo as a remarkable life who triumphed over adversity with true grit, glamour and great wit.

Presented by Matthew Parris.

Producer: Nicola Humphries

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2020.