My Impressions of The Dream

The Dream (1940): Objective Description

Frida Kahlo is laying in a medium brown wood 4 poster-canopy-bed on white sheets, covered by a yellow bedspread. The yellow bedspread is overlaid with a twisting vine with dark green leaves. Frida’s head is laying atop 2 white pillows. She is on her left side and her eyes are closed with her long black hair untied. She is wearing a white colored top. A white skeleton like figure lay above her on top of the flat, medium-brown, rectangular canopy bed. The skeleton like figure is laying on its side with its skull like head resting on 2 piled white pillows. The skeleton like figure is holding a bouquet of pale pink and purple flowers with light green leaves with its left hand. The skeleton like figure is intertwined with white wires connecting light gold-brown cylinders that travel up each leg and to the arms. The skeleton like figure holds a straw-like stick between its inner ankles. The full left bedside view is revealed as it is suspended in the clouds with small breaks of light to medium sky showing.

The Dream (1940): Impressionistic Description

When I gaze at The Dream, I think of Frida painting about what haunts her. Although she paints herself looking serene, peaceful and unknowing of events to come. Sleeping may be the only peace Frida gets in her life during the 1940 time period of the painting. There are certain events in Frida’s life that haunt her: her sister’s betrayal, Diego, her physical condition, not being able to carry a child. The dream is representing death and life. The skeleton is a rigid and terrifying symbol of death, that seems to have a comical expression on its face. The vines are life. The blanket vines creep up around her slowly as if they are going to swallow her up and strangle her. The wires on the skeleton show how binding her disability and health problems have been. Frida’s health issues have consumed her with the thoughts of death. The skeleton is waiting patiently and alert on pillows, with flowers in hand. It is as if the skeleton is celebrating death, which is a custom in Mexico. The skeleton may also be wired with dynamite or fireworks to get ready to celebrate Frida’s death with a big loud send off. Or will Frida’s death be as peaceful as her sleep?  The clouds make this scene look calm and remind me of a vision of what heaven should look like. Frida is floating in the clouds because death is still a dream state, not a reality yet. 

Kahlo, Frida. The Dream. 1940. Private Collection. Frida Kahlo Foundation : The Complete Works. Web 9 Sept. 2010. <http://www.frida-kahlo-foundation.org/The-Dream.html>.