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Courtesy of www.FridaKahlo.org |
It was a Mexican tradition to memorialize a dead child through
painting and Frida painted this painting for a friend Delfina. This
tradition can go back to 16th century colonial times.
The deceased child in this painting is the three-year-old son of
Delfina, who is a native Indian woman and a model of Diego Rivera.
Diego is the godfather of this child. When the child was seriously
ill the family refused to go to a medical doctor but would rather
use witch doctor. Although Diego tried to get medical help for the
child the family refused it and the child finally died of his
disease. At the bottom of this painting, the inscription reads: "The
Deceased Dimas Rosas at 3 Years Old - 1937".
It
was not known why the painting was not given to the mother as a
remembrance. It was first exhibited in 1938 at Julien Levy's
surrealism gallery with the title "Dressed Up for Paradise". In
1943, it was displayed with the title "Boy King" at the Art Museum
of Philadelphia. It is now a part of the collection of the Dolores
Olmedo Museum in Mexico City.
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