Gilgamesh and Enkidu Meets Frida Kahlo - Without Hope (1945)
Description
This painting is entitled Without Hope which was made by Frida in 1945. As the title of this painting implies, Frida's condition at that time was indeed 'hopeless'. This painting was painted when Frida Kahlo was undergoing treatment and forced to eat with a doctor's prescription. At that time Frida Kahlo no longer had the appetite to eat anything, due to the many surgeries she underwent. Frida is very thin and malnourished. However, the doctor who treated Frida, dr. Eloesser forced him to keep eating so he could undergo treatment. Dr. Eloesser prescribes complete bed rest and a diet of forcibly refined foods every two hours. On the back of this painting Frida Kahlo wrote the following explanation: There is not a shred of hope left for me…Everything moves with time with what is in the stomach.”
In this painting, Frida Kahlo, describes what she experienced with what she considered "forced eating". Frida felt all the food tasted disgusting because she no longer had an appetite. Frida expressed all of this by describing her throwing up all the contents of the food which she described as disgusting, with the heads of fish and a number of animals, as well as skulls. Also shown in this painting Frida's hands are squeezed under and helpless. The background of this painting is desolate Mexico showing the sun and moon. The situation seems hopeless.