Finally, a black cat with strikingly blue eyes peers over her the artist's shoulder, looking menacingly at the space between Kahlo and the viewer. Above her head, two dragonflies hover in mid-air, just above the two butterfly clips nested in the elaborate hairstyle that crowns Kahlo's head. A tiny black hummingbird with its wings outstretched dangles like a piece of jewelry from the painter's throat. A monkey sits behind her right shoulder, its eyes directed on its hands as it's carelessly tugging at the thorn necklace and causing his host to bleed. In Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, Frida is surrounded by insects and animals, and is found in what can only be described as a lush, but suffocatingly dense jungle. This element of the piece probably signifies her self-representation as a Christian martyr and the enduring pain experienced following her failed marriage. Her bold eyebrows hold the emphasis on her face as a thorn necklace strangles her throat, trailing down her chest like the roots of a tree as it draws blood from her neck. It shows Kahlo in a frontal position as she's directly confronting the viewer’s gaze from the canvas. This rather small painting (approximately 24 x 18 inches, 60 x 46 cm) was painted in the year of 1940. The autobiographical details of her life found in these self-portraits, as well as her characteristic brows, elaborate hair and vibrant Mexican clothing, made Frida a popular figure both in Mexico and beyond her nation's borders, fame that her art enjoys to this day.įrida Kahlo - Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, via The Analysis of the Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best. Kahlo herself was very aware of the difficult role these images had in her art: In a lot of her self-portraits, Frida depicted her physical and emotional pain, more often than not somehow connected to her tempestuous relationship with a fellow artist and husband Diego Rivera. Out of 143 paintings she created, 55 were self-portraits and harsh life experiences were a common theme in every single one of them. Probably the most iconic of all Hispanic artists, Frida Kahlo's self-portraits had a hard task of telling her life's story of isolation and pain. Frida Kahlo Self Portraits - Morphed 20th Centuryįrida Kahlo and the Magic of Her Self-Portraits Instead of doing what international feminism dictated, she donned the identity of the Tehuana woman - the Tehuana had a great deal of equality with their male Zapotec counterparts and represented strength, sensuality and exoticism.įrida wanted to implement all three qualities in both her life and art. In rejection of the limited conception of femininity in other countries, Kahlo fashioned herself as a Mexican counterpart to the flappers of the United States and Europe in the 1920s. selflessness, martyrdom, self-sacrifice, an erasure of self and the negation of one’s outward existence. Simultaneously to learning about the revolution, the so-called “cult of Mexican femininity” gained popularity, which Jolie Olcott describes as the following: This was initially pointed towards her medical issues, but was soon substituted by infertility and her troubled marriage with Diego Rivera.Ĭreating paintings, especially self-portraits, was a very therapeutic experience for her - it allowed the creation of a separate Frida on which to project her anguish and pain.Īnother constant source of inspiration came from the fact the artist was a big supporter of the Mexican Revolution, so much so that she attempted to change her birthdate to correspond with the beginning of the Revolution in 1910. The Real Frida Kahlo - Videoįrom the moment she began painting while still bedridden after a bus accident that left her seriously disabled, Frida Kahlo was focusing on portraying her inner struggles. We're going to take a closer look at Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, analyze its meaning and visuals, as well as find out what inspired the painter to create it in the first place. Every element in this painting gives specific clues to Kahlo's mental state, perhaps none more than her still, direct, emotionless gaze that seems to express the immediacy of her pain. Like many other of her paintings, this artwork is a lot akin to a painted assortment of symbols. In Autorretrato con Collar de Espinas, Kahlo painted a self-portrait following her first divorce from Diego Rivera and the end of her affair with photographer Nickolas Muray. Short and strikingly frank, no other Frida Kahlo quote describes her Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird more succinctly than this one. My paintings carry with them the message of pain.
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