The Postcard
A Valentine's Series postcard that was printed in Great Britain.
The card was posted in Bournemouth on Sunday the 7th. June 1908 to:
Mrs. R. C. Duell,
East Barnby,
Lythe,
Whitby,
Yorks.
The pencilled message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Sunday.
Dear Sister,
Spending Whitsun here
with another fellow from
Call.
It is a grand place, but
very warm.
Going for a sea trip
tomorrow round the
Isle of Wight if fine.
Love to all,
Harry."
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town on the south coast of England to the east of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, 96 miles (155 km) long.
According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 183,490, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. With Poole to the west and Christchurch in the east, Bournemouth forms the South East Dorset conurbation, which has a total population of over 465,000.
Before it was founded in 1810 by Lewis Tregonwell, the area was a deserted heathland occasionally visited by fishermen and smugglers.
Initially marketed as a health resort, the town received a boost when it appeared in Augustus Granville's 1841 book, The Spas of England.
Bournemouth's growth truly accelerated with the arrival of the railway.
The town centre has notable Victorian architecture, and the 202-foot (62 m) spire of St Peter's Church, one of three Grade 1 listed churches in the borough, is a local landmark.
Bournemouth's location has made it a popular destination for tourists, attracting over five million visitors annually with its beaches and popular nightlife.
The Lower, Central and Upper Gardens are Grade II* public parks, leading for several miles down the valley of the River Bourne through the centre of the town to the sea.
Cristina Kahlo
So what else happened on the day that Harry posted the card?
Well, the 7th. June 1908 marked the birth of Cristina Kahlo.
Born Cristina Kahlo y Calderón in Coyoacán, Mexico City, Cristina was the sister of artist Frida Kahlo. Frida painted a portrait of Cristina, titled 'Portrait of Cristina, My Sister', and Diego Rivera, Frida's husband, also portrayed Cristina Kahlo in his work.
Cristina, with whom Rivera had an affair, was painted by Rivera in the nude.
Cristina Kahlo's Personal Life
Cristina was the youngest daughter of the Kahlo family. Her parents were Guillermo Kahlo and Matilde Calderón. Guillermo Kahlo, who worked as a photographer, had a previous marriage in which he had two children before his wife died.
Cristina and Frida had two other sisters, named Matilde and Adriana, and two half sisters named María Luisa and Margarita.
Cristina was eleven months younger than Frida, and the pair were very close. The Kahlo y Calderón family lived in a house built by Guillermo in Coyoacán, Mexico.
Cristina came from a meager background but her father, Guillermo, a photographer during the Mexican Revolution when there was hardly a market for photographs, provided for her education.
Cristina later married and had two children, Isolda and Antonio. Cristina's husband left her after the birth of Antonio.
When Frida and Diego Rivera returned to Mexico as successful painters, Cristina acted as subject for both artists. She was one of Diego's favorite subjects, and he often painted her in the nude. Soon after her husband left, Cristina and Diego began an affair.
Cristina as a Subject for Frida Kahlo
Frida used Cristina as an indirect and direct subject for a number of her paintings. Frida painted Portrait of Cristina Kahlo near the start of her artistic career.
Art historians note that its style was similar to Diego's. However after this painting, Frida was able to find her own stylistic preferences.
In Frida's painting Mi Nodriza y yo ('My wet-nurse and I') Cristina, although not in the painting, is its subject. The painting depicts Frida being breastfed by a wet-nurse as opposed to her own mother, because when Frida's mother became pregnant with Cristina, she could no longer breastfeed Frida.
Cristina is also an indirect subject of Frida's 1937 painting 'Memory, the Heart', a self-portrait displaying Frida with a metal rod going through an empty space in her chest.
Art historians have suggested that this symbolizes "displacement of penetration." In other words symbolizing Cristina's affair with Diego. The pole replacing her heart, which lies wounded and bleeding on the ground, also shows the immense pain which was the result of the affair.
Cristina as a Subject for Diego Rivera
Rivera was one of Diego's favorite models. Cristina was depicted on the South Wall of Rivera's 1929-1935 mural 'The History of Mexico: The World of Today and Tomorrow'. Cristina lies at the bottom of the mural alongside her children and Frida.
This could be an indication of her importance to Diego. Pairing Frida and Cristina and her children showed the contradictions between the two. Frida appears statuesque while Cristina appears "lively." Another contradiction was the aspect of Cristina being his lover and Frida his wife; and in addition Cristina had children and Frida did not.
Cristina also appears in Rivera's 'Figure of Knowledge', in the Ministry of Health. Depicted in the nude, she holds a yonic shaped flower as a symbol of her femininity. Diego depicted her in the nude in another mural in the same building, although neither of the nude depictions were meant to be erotic but rather representative of health and purity.
The Death and Legacy of Cristina Kahlo
Cristina and her children lived with Diego and Frida as a family. Towards the end of Frida's life, Cristina looked after her and made her as comfortable as possible.
After Frida's death, Cristina lived her life separate from Diego. Diego turned Cristina and Frida's childhood house La Casa Azul in Coyoacán into a museum of Frida's work, though this didn't please Cristina.
Cristina Kahlo died on the 8th. February 1964 at the age of 55 in Coyoacán. She was laid to rest in Panteón Inglés, Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City.
The novel, Frida (2001) by Barbara Mujica is narrated from the point of view of Cristina Kahlo.