L'œuvre en bref

Frida Kahlo painted Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit in 1932, following a painful miscarriage there. The work is a direct representation of the loss, grief and physical helplessness she felt in the face of the impossibility of becoming a mother. The painting marks a key moment in her career when she began to use painting as a therapeutic outlet, blending autobiography, anatomy and symbolism.

Lying naked on a hospital bed at the center of the composition, Frida bleeds profusely. Around her float six elements connected to her body by red ribbons like umbilical cords: a fetus, an anatomical uterus, a snail (symbolizing the slowness of the process), a bony pelvis, a purple flower and a mechanical part. In the background, Detroit's industry is depicted in a cold, distant manner. The inscription “Julio de 1932 - Henry Ford Hospital” on the bed anchors the scene in a real moment. The work expresses an intimate, raw pain, which Frida transforms into a frontal, precise and moving image.

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