An additional “jewel” joins the Frida Kahlo exhibition “Viva la Vida” in Baden-Baden

A wonderfully handcrafted silver pendant known as “The Universe Pectoral “ with the matching earrings can be seen in the Frida Kahlo exhibition in Baden-Baden, Germany as of September 14th 2012.
The two exhibits are the replica in silver of the originals found in the archeological site of Monte Alban, Oaxaca, Mexico.
The archeological site of Monte Alban was discovered in 1932, and the Tomb Nr 7 contained jewelry of immense historical value to understand the Zapotec and Mixtec cultures of the 12th to the 15th centuries AD.

Frida Kahlo owned many pieces of Mayan jewelry (in gold, silver and jade), all presents given to her by Diego Rivera.
The exhibition shows also a photo taken in 1939 where Frida Kahlo wears such earrings.

At the end of 1939 Frida Kahlo painted „The Two Fridas“, this is the time when she knew that Diego Rivera would divorce her.
With “The Two Fridas” Frida Kahlo illustrates her separation from the “European” Frida, and from 1940 on she painted herself only as the “Mexican” Frida.
This can be clearly seen in her next work which she painted in January 1940: “The Wounded Table”, from this time on Frida Kahlo painted only symbols inspired from the Maya and Aztec culture and mythology.
The painting “The Wounded Table”, authorized replica, can only be seen in the Kustmuseum Gehrke-Remund as the original disappeared in 1955 on its way to an exhibition in Moscow.

The Pectoral and Earrings, now in show in Baden-Baden, depict the pre-columbian way of viewing the universe.
The Pectoral is divided in five sections all masterly hand worked in silver and connected to each other by two or four silver rings:
1. the Sky, represented by the ballgame of the gods’ court;
2. the Sun in its dual form, the Zenith and the Nadir;
3. the Underworld, represented by the skull at the center;
4. the Earth, as the monster which devour and gives life;
5. the Moon, symbolized by the name of the 4-flint of the Mayan calendar; the 4 silver balls and the 4 silver shaped flint stones.

“Since we have a permanent Frida Kahlo exhibition we can show not only all her works but also the depth of all the factors which influenced Frida Kahlo art and life. Now in its fourth year, the exhibition counts over 600 exhibits; we show her paintings and the context in which she painted them; this results is an authentic hands-on experience for our visitors.” said Dr. Remund, founder and owner, with H.J. Gehrke, of the Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund in Baden-Baden.

Another unique exhibit is a necklace of bones and shells tied together by a red leather band, original from Mexico, which matches exactly the necklace Frida Kahlo painted in 1938 in her “Self-portrait with Monkey””
The 24 pieces of jewelry, original from Mexico, can be seen in the Frida Kahlo exhibition in Baden-Baden in addition to the 116 paintings, licensed replicas from © Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2008.

The Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund is a privately owned monographic art museum founded in 2008. The Kunstmuseum exhibits only the works of Frida Kahlo. The objective of the Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund is to offer the visitors a complete view of the entire work of the Mexican artist, thus allowing to follow Kahlo’s development, to discover the different phases she goes through in her life: from the very early works to her maturity.
The Vision of the Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund is to offer the visitors a unique cultural experience that covers all the senses, and an environment that touches not only the eyes of the visitors, but their minds, and above all their hearts.
Every decision made in the creation of the museum was driven by two elements:
respect for the visitors and respect for the artists.

In addition to exhibit the artworks, the Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund shows the cultural and historical environment of Frida Kahlo’s life and times in Mexico: Tehuana Huipiles (blouses) and dresses, jewelry, pre-columbian scupltures, Mexican votive paintings and the entire context in which the artist lived and produced her work. This 360°view of Kahlo’s life and work allows the visitors to totally immerse themselves into the artworks and to better understand the artist and the Mexican history and culture.
Since January 2011 the Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund is member of the ICOM (International Council Of Museums), and as such is committed to the code of ethics of the international council.

The founders of the Art Museum are Hans-Jürgen Gehrke and Prof. Dr. Mariella C. Remund. Both are art patrons, collectors and passionate art historians.
They have spent over 25 years in executive positions in multinational corporations and academic organizations in Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, USA, Spain, Mexico, South America and China.

Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund GmbH
Industrie Strasse 9a
76532 Baden-Baden, Germany
Tel Nr: +49 7221 97 11899
Press contact person: Dr. Mariella C. Remund
Info(at)FridaKahlo.Mu

This release was published on openPR.