"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone,
because I am the person I know best."-Frida Kahlo
FRIDA KAHLO
By: Daisy Dong
8E
Frida Kahlo (6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican
painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and
works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico.
‘SELF-PORTRAIT WITH THORN
NECKLACE AND HUMMINGBIRD’ 1940
In this portrait, Frida Kahlo faces the viewer with a
background of large green leaves and a yellow leaf right
behind her. The thorns are around her neck like a necklace
which is held by a black monkey. Her neck is bleeding from
the piercing thorns. On the right side behind her shoulder is
a black cat. A hummingbird is hanging on the thorn which
knots around her throat. Her expression is calm and
solemn. It also seems she is patiently enduring the pain.
COLORS
In this self-portrait, Frida used the color
green a lot. Green is used on the leaves
in the background, and also on parts of
the monkey, black cat, and herself.
In Mexican culture, green symbolizes
hope. Because in the three background
colors of the Mexican flag, green
represents hope, white stands for purity,
SYMBOLISM
and red symbolizes the color of blood for
In Mexican mythology, those who have died fighting for Mexico’s
monkeys are symbols of lust,
independence.
but Kahlo showed them as
The thorn necklace she wears may
tender and protective
be the symbol of Jesus’ crown of
symbols. Christian and Jewish
thorns, which he bore while being
themes are often shown in her
dragged to his crucifixion.
works.
The hummingbird symbolizes hope and good luck in Mexican
culture. However, different interpretations say that the hummingbird
pendant refers to Huitzilopochtli(the Aztec god of war) which may
refer to the pain Kahlo suffered all her life internally. The black
cat is known as a symbol of bad luck.
TEXTURES
The texture of this painting is overall pretty
smooth. Most things portrayed feel smooth,
such as the leaves and Frida's clothes. But some
parts such as the thorn necklace look hard and
sharp. The monkey and black cat's texture feels
furry and a little prickly. The hummingbird's
texture is feathery and smooth.
OTHER WORKS OF
FRIDA
'The Wounded Deer' 1946
'The Two Fridas' 1939
'Thinking About Death'
1943
'Viva La Vida, Watermelons'
1954
WORKS CITED
Emre Kagitci. “Frida Kahlo and the Symbolism in Her Art DailyArtMagazine.com - Art History Stories.” DailyArtMagazine.com - Art
History Stories, 11 May 2018, www.dailyartmagazine.com/frida-kahlosymbolism/.
“Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, 1940.”
Fridakahlo.org, 2009, www.fridakahlo.org/self-portrait-with-thornnecklace-and-hummingbird.jsp.
Wikipedia Contributors. “Frida Kahlo.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation,
21 Feb. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo.
Wu, Wing. “CLASS_TASK_-_RESEARCH_.” PowerPoint, 3 Sept. 2021.