Marc Petitjean "Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris" Book (2020)

Details: Marc Petitjean, "Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris," published by Other Press, and translated to English, 2020. Hardcover (7.8" l x 5.3" w x 0.8" h) 197 pages (this book may contain a sharpie mark on the top or bottom edge and may show mild signs of shelf wear).

Description: "In 1938 Frida Kahlo made her only trip to Europe. At the time she was devastated by a long series of betrayals from her husband, but the trip to Europe and her time in Paris turned into the beginning of a period of her life where she began to find success as an artist on her own. This book focuses on the vibrant 1930s surrealist scene in Paris and Frida Kahlo's time there, offering a striking portrait of this unique time in her life and how it shaped some of her most powerful paintings."

"This intimate account offers a new, unexpected understanding of the artist’s work and of the vibrant 1930s surrealist scene.

In 1938, just as she was leaving Mexico for her first solo exhibition in New York, Frida Kahlo was devastated to learn from her husband, Diego Rivera, that he intended to divorce her. This latest blow followed a long series of betrayals, most painful of all his affair with her beloved younger sister, Cristina, in 1934. In early 1939, anxious and adrift, Kahlo traveled from the United States to France—her only trip to Europe, and the beginning of a unique period of her life when she was enjoying success on her own.

Now, for the first time, this previously overlooked part of her story is brought to light in exquisite detail. Marc Petitjean takes the reader to Paris, where Kahlo spends her days alongside luminaries such as Pablo Picasso, André Breton, Dora Maar, and Marcel Duchamp.

Using Kahlo’s whirlwind romance with the author’s father, Michel Petitjean, as a jumping-off point, The Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris provides a striking portrait of the artist and an inside look at the history of one of her most powerful, enigmatic paintings."

Grade: M/NM (new stock)

Author: Marc Petitjean is a writer, filmmaker, and photographer. He has directed several documentaries, including From Hiroshima to Fukushima, on Dr. Shuntaro Hida, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima; Living Treasure, about Japanese kimono painter Kunihiko Moriguchi; and Zones grises, on his own search for information about the life of his father, Michel Petitjean, after his death.