Besides, a booby-trapped and awoke skeleton sleeps on the top, and it unremittingly depicts the unavoidable reality of death.
The Artwork's Theme and Tone
Frida Kahlo used to represent the black feelings of the artwork, denoting it's a humorous reminder of death. In the real world, Frida used to sleep on her canopy's bed alongside a papier-mache skeleton. This artefact is somehow strange, mainly due to the skeleton figure. The painting’s tone is strongly linked to the Mexican culture, which was her background. In this culture, the living and the dead coexist in harmony. Indeed, they feast together on the Day of the Dead.
The Painting's Meaning
The Skelton holds a bouquet and is wired with explosives to signify Judas. Mexicans hang and burn paper mache skeletons during Easter time to symbolically represents Judas and the act of destroying all negative energies. On the canvas, Frida covers herself with a yellow sheet or blanket that contains overgrown leafy vines. This bed is exceedingly bold and typically stands out from the drawing. When compared to the skeleton and bed, Frida seems much smaller.
The notable thing is that this bed is symbolic to Frida because essential things, such as conception, birth and death, occurs in a bed. In general, beds are measurers of time, symbolically resounding, and for Frida, an ever-present reality because it is where she was kept as a child, teenager and woman. Additionally, she started her painting career from a bed. Most of her canvas and small-scale paintings were completed from her bed as she was confined due to childhood polio. She also spent plenty of time in bed as a teenager to nurse injuries she sustained from a bus accident.
The clouds in this painting, on the other hand, symbolises Frida dreaming. Else, they could symbolise heaven. The wired explosives might indicate death, while the vines denote life. According to most opinions and reviews, this drawing primarily signifies Kahlo injuries and illnesses. It also suggests that death is inevitable. It is worth noting that Frida Kahlo stated that she never paints nightmares and dreams. Instead, she only paints her reality. In conclusion, this drawing may depict life and death, but not in a morbid or dark meaning of death.
