Self-Portrait with Monkeys by Frida Kahlo
Soft Enamel Pin
1.25"
Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait with Monkeys, 1943
© (2018) Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / SOCAN (2019)
About Self-Portrait with Monkeys
Flora and fauna feature prominently in Kahlo’s paintings, often representing larger themes within her work. In this painting, Kahlo is surrounded by four monkeys, which she kept as pets in Coyoacán. Her pets have frequently been described as surrogates for her maternal energies.
Frida’s menagerie comprised chickens, sparrows, macaws, spider monkeys and parakeets, Bonito the parrot and a fawn named Granizo.
About Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo (born July 6, 1907, Coyoacán, Mexico—died July 13, 1954, Coyoacán) was a Mexican painter best known for her uncompromising and brilliantly colored self-portraits that deal with such themes as identity, the human body, and death. Although she denied the connection, she is often identified as a Surrealist. In addition to her work, Kahlo was known for her tumultuous relationship with muralist Diego Rivera (married 1929, divorced 1939, remarried 1940).