Frida Kahlo is one of the most outstanding Mexican artists in the world of painting , serving as an inspiration to other well-known painters such as Picasso or Duchamp.

His life was difficult, marked by polio and the consequences of a road accident. It was after the latter that he began to paint, usually using motifs from his culture and expressing his thoughts, feelings and experiences in his works.

But in addition to her pictorial works, she also left us various reflections, some of which we gather in these phrases by Frida Kahlo.

Phrases of Frida Kahlo

Below we show you 65 phrases of Frida Kahlo that allow us to approach her thoughts , beliefs and experiences. An exciting life expressed in priceless reflections.

1. I paint flowers so they don’t die

In this phrase the artist expresses her desire to preserve for posterity that which is worthy of appreciation, admiration and respect.

2. Feet, why do I want them when I have wings to fly?

The need to dream and imagine allows us to achieve objectives that would otherwise be impossible.

3. It was a solitary flower, a joyful butterfly you landed there; then the pollen of another more fragrant flower called, and the butterfly flew away

This phrase refers to the painful experience of betrayal and infidelity. The artist’s husband was unfaithful to her sister, causing her great suffering.

4. Sometimes I prefer to talk to workers and builders than to those stupid people who call themselves educated people

This phrase reflects that sometimes people from higher social classes and with a higher than average education use their supposed cultural level to feel superior to others, while the more humble can be more respectful.

5. Man is the master of his destiny and his destiny is the earth, and he himself is destroying it until he is left without a destiny

The well-known painter expresses her belief that we are destroying our world, and by the way, ourselves, with our irresponsible actions in areas such as politics and the environment.

6. I tried to drown my sorrows in alcohol, but the condemned learned to swim

The use of alcohol or other substances does not fix our problems, but only postpones and prolongs them.

7.Who would say that stains live and help to live? Ink, blood, smell… What would I do without the absurd and the fleeting?

We often focus too much on the long term and the big goals, without appreciating the role and importance of the little things or the ridiculous.

8. Don’t let the tree you are the sunshine of thirst

This phrase urges us to care for and protect those we love, not to allow relationships to die and be lost.

9. To wall up one’s own suffering is to risk being devoured from within

Keeping things to yourself and not expressing the pain and suffering causes it to stay within us, making us suffer.

Why do I call him my Diego? He was never and will never be mine. It is his own…

In this sentence in which she mentions her husband, the artist indicates that the couple we are with is not ours, it is not a possession but someone free and independent who can decide for himself.

11. Choose a person who looks at you as if you were perhaps magic

This phrase pushes us to look for a partner that we are passionate about and for whom we are important.

12. If I could give you one thing in life, I would give you the ability to see yourself through my eyes. Only then will you realize how special you are to me

Sometimes people are not aware of how valuable and special they are to others.

13. I paint myself because I know myself best

We can know a lot about a person. We may even know details about others that they themselves are not aware of. But in reality, the one we know best is ourselves, what we think, feel and believe.

14. So many things to tell you and so little to come out of my mouth. You should learn to read my eyes when I look at you

Sometimes when we feel something for someone we are not able to express it clearly or make it clear to them how important it is to us.

15. I’ll take care of you, I’ll talk to you the way you treat me and I’ll believe what you show me

Words may be precious, but what matters is what we show by our actions.

16. At the end of the day, we can hold out much longer than we think we can

We’re stronger than we thought.

17. The most powerful art of life is to make of pain a talisman that heals, a butterfly that is reborn blooming in a feast of colors

This phrase speaks to us of the importance of overcoming our pain and taking advantage of it to grow and learn from it instead of allowing ourselves to be dragged down.

18. I loved him until my dignity said: it’s no big deal

Loving someone or something does not mean that we have to lower ourselves and accept everything in order to keep it by our side.

19. Each tick-tock is a second of life that passes, flees, and does not repeat itself

This phrase pushes us to take advantage of our limited time and dare to live as we want to.

20. Fall in love with you, with life, and then with whoever you want

The artist indicates the need to love oneself and then the world before pretending to love someone.

21. Everything can have beauty, even the most horrible

In everything that exists it is possible to find some kind of beauty, something positive and beautiful.

22. If you act like you know what you are doing, you can do whatever you want

Believing in ourselves and our possibilities opens the door to achieving any goal.

23. Who gave them the absolute truth? Nothing is absolute, everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes

There is no one who has the absolute truth, as it can change with perspective and with time. Everything can change.

24. I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality

The author tried to reflect her real emotions, feelings and experiences. It reflected what she had experienced and how, not what she could be or become.

25. I’m my own muse. I’m the person I know best. I am the person I want to improve

To be able to capture one’s own beauty, to feel admiration for oneself, to identify what good we have and what we can improve, is essential.

26. Tree of hope, stand firm

Maintaining hope is what allows us to emerge when things go wrong, to set new and better goals and to live our lives as we want to.

27. Beauty and ugliness are a mirage because others end up seeing inside us

The physical aspect, although it may initially attract or repel us, is not a determining factor when we consider a person or what he or she arouses in us.

28. Where you cannot love, do not delay

If relationships do not work out despite all attempts to fix them, there is no point in perpetuating the situation and causing even more suffering.

29. I used to think I was the strangest person in the world, but then I thought among so many people in the world there must be someone who feels like me, quirky and defective. I guess she’s out there thinking about me too. Well, I hope that if you read this you know that yes, it’s true, I’m here and I’m as strange as you are

Sometimes we think we are strange, being unable to be understood by anyone in the world. The truth is that many people have felt the same way throughout their lives, and that we all have our own quirks and defects.

30. I don’t really know if my paintings are surreal or not, but I do know that they represent the most frank expression of myself

The author, who did not identify with surrealism, wanted to reflect her inner self and her identity in her works.

31. There is nothing more beautiful than laughter

Laughing is one of the great pleasures of life, which is shared and makes us see the beauty of life.

32. I wait happily for the exit and I hope I never come back

Everything has an end, even life, and that should not make us bitter. It is part of life and inevitable, and it allows us to give value to what we do during our time. This phrase was uttered shortly before he died, aware that his end was near.

33. There are some who are born with a star, and others who are starry, and although you may not want to believe it, I am one of the very starry ones

There are people who for some reason seem to do well and others who do not. The important thing is to fight for what matters to us, whether the circumstances are with us or not.

34. Never in my life will I forget your presence. You took me in in pieces and gave me back my integrity, my whole self.

Words of thanks to those who cared and helped the artist recover from the pain. In this specific case, it refers to her then husband.

35. You deserve the best of the best, because you are one of those few people who, in this miserable world, are still honest with themselves, and that is the only thing that really counts

Be authentic and recognize ourselves in our successes and mistakes. To be as we are by accepting ourselves. Unfortunately today most people tend to behave not as they are but as they think they are required to, and they deceive themselves by trying to give an image of perfection.

36. What doesn’t kill me feeds me

Although it is painful, we learn from all that we live and we can grow and mature thanks to it.

37. Can verbs be invented? I want to tell you one: I’ll give you heaven, so that my wings will spread out to love you without measure

Love makes us experience and discover new things about the world and ourselves.

38. Pain, pleasure and death are nothing more than the process of existence. The revolutionary struggle in this process is an open door to intelligence

This phrase encourages us to fight, accepting that both pleasure and pain are part of life and that we must not allow it to stop us.

39. Surrealism is the magic surprise of finding a lion inside a closet, where you are sure to find shirts

In this sentence Frida Kahlo speaks of surrealism as a strange and surprising style.

40. Give me hope, desire to live and don’t forget me

In this sentence the artist asks for some of the main things that drive us to fight for what we want.

41. No place is sadder than an empty bed

Loneliness is a phenomenon that fills us with sadness and diminishes our ability to get excited.

42. If you want me in your life you will put me in it. I shouldn’t be fighting for a position

Love is something that must be reciprocal and in which both members must give and receive. Each is independent and must not beg for the love of the other.

43. I, who fell in love with your wings, will never want to cut them off

This phrase indicates that we should respect and not try to change what made us admire and love someone.

44. Often in pain are found the deepest pleasures, the most complex truths, the most certain happiness

Feeling pain and suffering does not have to be bad, as it can lead us to discover new things and adopt new ways of living and thinking.

45. The most important part of the body is the brain. From my face I like my eyebrows and my eyes. Apart from that I don’t like anything else. My head is too small. My breasts and my genitals are ordinary. Of the opposite sex, I have a moustache and a face in general

The painter argued that physical appearance was not the most important thing in a society where beauty was overrated.

46. I am free to give myself to the mother

Frida Kahlo defended the right to do what she really wanted to do, having the right to make mistakes if she wanted to.

47. I don’t want a love that’s half torn and split in half. I have fought and suffered so much that I deserve something whole, intense, indestructible

This phrase pushes us to fight to get what we want, and not settle for crumbs.

48. I think that little by little, I will be able to solve my problems and survive

Despite the various health problems she suffered throughout her life, the artist shows in this sentence a great ability to overcome.

49. So absurd and fleeting is our passage through this world, that it only leaves me calm to know that I have been authentic, that I have managed to be as close to myself as possible

Once again Frida Kahlo lets us see the importance of being as we are and being faithful to what we are and believe.

50. What is my path? To wait for you? To forget you? To do what you do, to go from the arms of one and another, to sleep with someone today and to sleep with a different one tomorrow?

The author wonders what should be the answer to the betrayal and disenchantment with the loved one.

51. I live every day hoping to see you come back… and every night knowing that you are not

In this phrase Frida Kahlo expresses melancholy for someone who is no longer at her side.

52. You see that I have neither Cervantes’ language, nor the aptitude nor the poetic or descriptive genius, but you are an axe to grind in my relaxed language

The artist expresses that it is not necessary to make flourishes or use metaphorical languages to make oneself understood.

53. Wanting to discover and love what has been discovered. Hidden. With the pain of always losing it

The desire to discover is something that drives us to experiment and elaborate new ways of doing things.

54. Sadness is portrayed in all my painting, but this is my condition, I no longer have any composure

Some of the artist’s works reflect painful moments in her life or the vision she had of them. Still, the artist defended her right to express that pain and sadness, which otherwise might have accumulated within her.

55. From the most evil year, the most beautiful day is born

Even in the worst moments, hope can be found and that which drives us to fight.

56. I don’t want to talk to you because they say that the fish dies by its mouth and every time I talk to you, I end up dying a little more

This phrase expresses the pain that her relationship with her former husband caused her.

57. The world belongs to those who are born to conquer it and not to those who dream that they can conquer it

Dreaming is essential, but it is not enough if we want to achieve something. For our dreams to come true we must act and not just imagine.

58. I spend my life cloistered in this fucking mansion of oblivion, said to recover my health and paint in my leisure time

Frida Kahlo’s life was hard and short, full of illness, recoveries (she underwent more than thirty surgeries due to her accident) and disappointments.

59. Although I have said “I love you” to many and have dated and kissed others, deep down I have only loved you

Loving is not easy, and even when we want to leave behind a love that has hurt us we can still love that person.

60. I would like to give you everything that you would never have had, and even then you wouldn’t know how wonderful it is to be able to love you

Loving someone makes us feel lucky, and wanting the person we love to get all the happiness in the world. The same that makes us feel.

61. Doctor if you let me drink this tequila I promise not to drink at my funeral

Said by the artist shortly before her death, it reflects that even in hard times we should try to keep our spirits and sense of humor up.

62. And there is in it (life) so much intensity, so much interest, that the problem is only knowing how to live it

This phrase refers to life and that the main problem or question to solve that each of us has is how to live it.

63. In this hard life, one suffers enough, brother, and although one learns, one suffers from it in the long run, and no matter how much I try to play hard, there are times when I want to throw the harp away

Even though we have to fight for our dreams, it is normal that when faced with life’s hardships we feel sad and want to give up and stop fighting.

64. You know very well that women’s sexual attractiveness is over and done with, and then they have nothing left but what they have in their heads to defend themselves in this filthy life of hell

In this phrase Frida Kahlo expresses that beauty ends up withering away. She urges us to take more account of our own intelligence and to stop giving so much importance to the physical.

65. Long live life

One of the author’s most positive phrases pushes us to enjoy our life with optimism.

66. I feel I’ve always loved you, from the moment you were born, and before, when you were conceived. And sometimes I feel like you were born to me.

Dedicated to her beloved.

67. I want to build. But I am but an insignificant but important part of a whole of which I am not yet aware.

A beautiful look into the future.

68. As always, when I walk away from you, I take your world and your life with me, and that is what I cannot recover from.

Always melancholic.

69. I love you more than my own skin.

A demonstration of love without borders or limits.

70. I don’t need to buy dresses or other such things, because as a “Tehuana” I don’t even wear underwear or stockings.

About his peculiar style, very much rooted in his cultural background.