I really dig this Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird painting by Mexican artist, Frida Khalo. She is known for her self-portraits. This is probably her most famous. Some might consider her narcissistic for constantly painting herself. Ordinarily I might agree, but she was basically a recluse. She said she didn’t have many other subjects.

She had a tough life. She contracted polio at 6, which left her with one leg shorter than the other. She almost died in a bus accident when she was 17. Her paintings were the way she coped with the pain. She had a volatile relationship with her husband Diego Rivera, who was very jealous of her ability and preferred to keep her at home, out of the spotlight.

This painting is a part of the Harry Ransom Center’s Nickolas Muray collection of Mexican art, on view at The Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

#art, #artist, #featuredartist, #surrealism, #inspiration