Portrait of Alejandro Gómez Arias by Frida Kahlo
This is a portrait of Frida’s first lover, Alejandro Arias. This portrait was done in a completely different style in contrast to the Renaissance mode of his earlier paintings. It was painted in conventional portrait styles. The note in the upper right corner of the canvas wrote Frida: “Alex, I lovingly painted your portrait, which is one of my companions forever, Frida Kahlo, 30 years later \”. Frida met Alejandro Arias in 1922 when she began her classes at the National Preparation School in Mexico City. The young couple fell in love and were indivisible for the next three years.
Portrait of Frida’s first lover, Alejandro Arias
Alex, as Frida called him, was with her that rainy night in September 1925 when the bus in which they were traveling was run over by a tram. Alejandro has just suffered some minor injuries. Frida was seriously injured and the surgeons at the Red Cross Hospital thought they could not save her. Alejandro did everything possible and convinced the surgeons to treat Frida. Without her persistence, Frida could not survive. Frida wrote numerous letters to Alex while he was in the hospital and recuperating. In his letters he complained of pain and his disability, frequently asking “what will happen in 30 years” or “how will I be when I am 30”.
