Self Portrait with
Necklace of Thorns

1940

In this painting, Frida paints herself in a frontal pose to enhance the immediacy of her presence. She has unraveled Christ's crown of thorns and wears it as a necklace, presenting herself as a Christian martyr. The thorns digging into her neck are symbolic of the pain she still feels over her divorce from Diego. Hanging from the thorny necklace is a dead hummingbird whose outstretched wings echo Frida's joined eyebrows. In Mexican folk tradition, dead hummingbirds were used as charms to bring luck in love. Over her left shoulder the black cat, a symbol of bad luck and death, waits to pounce on the hummingbird. Over her right shoulder the symbol of the devil, her pet monkey…a gift from Diego. Around her hair, butterflies represent the Resurrection. Once again, Frida uses a wall of large tropical plant leaves as the background.

Frida had previously painted a self-portrait that was meant for her lover, the photographer Nickolas Muray. However, after her divorce from Diego she had to sell the painting to raise money for a divorce lawyer. As a replacement, she painted this self-portrait for Muray.

Oil on canvas
25" x 19 ½"
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
Art Collection,
University of Texas - Austin, Texas, U.S.A.

Óleo sobre lienzo
63,5 x 49,5 cm.
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
Art Collection,
University of Texas - Austin, Texas, EE.UU.

En este retrato, Frida se pinta a si misma de frente para realzar su presencia. Ha estirado la corona de espinas de Cristo y la lleva como un collar, presentándose como una mártir cristiana. Las espinas que se hunden en su cuello son símbolos del dolor que todavía siente debido al divorcio de Diego. Colgando del collar de espinas hay un colibrí muerto, cuyas alas extendidas imitan las cejas de Frida. En la tradición folklórica mexicana, los colibríes muertos eran usados como símbolos de buena suerte en amores. Sobre su hombre izquierdo hay un gato negro, símbolo de mala suerte y muerte; el gato está esperando el saltar sobre el colibrí. Sobre su hombro derecho esta su mono; un símbolo del diablo...y un regalo de Diego. Alrededor de su pelo, las mariposas representan la resurrección. De nuevo, Frida usa un muro de enormes plantas tropicales como fondo.

Frida había pintado anteriormente un autorretrato que quería dar a su amante, el fotógrafo Nickolas Muray. No obstante, después de su divorcio de Diego tuvo que vender el cuadro para recaudar fondos para contratar a un abogado de divorcios. Para reemplazarlo, pintó este autorretrato para Muray.