“Weeping Coconuts” by Frida Kahlo, is a still-life painting created in 1951. The painting is an image of various fruits that includes two coconuts and other fruits that are very common in Latin America and uses three central colors: orange, green, and various shades of brown.
When we are looking only at Frida Kahlo’s brushwork, there are many positive aspects. Vibrant colors accentuate the different fruits and separate the main objects from the background. In addition, Frida Kahlo has brought coconuts to life with holes that appear as the eyes of a face. She gives feeling to inanimate objects with her use of color and her brushwork.
But the focus of this painting are the two coconuts that appear to be crying. At the time of this painting, Frida Kahlo was struggling with alcohol and physical issues, which made her unable to produce paintings of quality in comparison to works she had painted before. The coconuts and fruits are symbolic of health and life, which stand in contrast to Kahlo’s overall condition when she created this painting. Perhaps, they represent Frida Kahlo from the past, as the coconuts appear to lament the challenges that Frida Kahlo was facing currently.
The color palette of this painting consists of two central colors, orange and green. Orange often symbolizes youthfulness and energy, which is very different from Kahlo’s current condition. Not only does Frida Kahlo portray her past self as a coconut, but perhaps she is representing herself through all of the fruits in the painting. She does not have youthfulness, nor does she have energy like she had in the past, when she could produce paintings to her satisfaction. Green often represents health. Frida Kahlo was nearing the end of her life while this painting was created, which suggests that the usage of green symbolizes how she was reminiscing about the times when she was at full capacity, both mentally and physically.
The painting reflects Frida Kahlo’s journey as an artist. As she is near the end of her career, she reflects upon the times she was at peak condition and yearns to go back to those times. Fittingly, her message, “Pintó con todo cariño” (painted with all affection) seems to be a parting statement of sorts — that she has lived her life and presented her craft with all of her loving affection.
