Frida Kahlo: Pain and Suffering

Frida Kahlo - Diego and I - 1949 - Oil on canvas - Private Collection (click photo for larger image)A self-portrait of Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), the beloved Mexican artist whose oil paintings drew inspiration from indigenous Mexican culture, recently sold for $34.9 million at a Sotheby's auction, marking for an all-time high for a piece of artwork created by a Latin American artist.

Perhaps ironically, the sale shattered the previous record held by Kahlo's husband, Diego Rivera, whose painting, "The Rivals," fetched nearly $10 million in a 2018 auction. As time passes, a fascination with Kahlo rises while interest in Rivera declines.

Named "Diego and I," Kahlo's painting is the last major self-portrait that the renowned artist made before her death. In addition to the artist’s tear stained face, the viewer's gaze is also drawn to the miniature portrait of Rivera, emphasizing Rivera's prominence in Kahlo's consciousness. This “third eye” also appears on Rivera’s face, indicating the mutual obsession each artist had for the other.

The image of anguish and sorrow depicted in this work most likely refers to the pain Kahlo felt when Rivera began an affair with her film star friend, María Felíx, as well as the physical pain the artist suffered throughout her life

“Sotheby's Latin American art director Anna Di Stasi said in a statement: ‘the double portrait is a summary of all of Kahlo's passion and pain, a tour de force of the raw emotive power of the artist at the peak of her abilities.’”