The Frame is one of Frida Kahlo’s most famous self-portraits .
This 1938 oil on glass artwork is now in the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris.
Frida Kahlo’s painting was supposed to be her first sale since a 1939 French exhibition. It was purchased by the French state for display at the Louvre and marked her arrival as an artist in Europe.
This continent had provided her with considerable influence throughout her life, and so, in a certain sense, this completed a cycle between Mexico and the continent from which much of her family’s roots came. It was also particularly rare for the Louvre to invest in a Mexican artist, from any period.
Despite the artist’s worldwide popularity in the modern era, The Frame is the only painting from his career that can be found in a European museum.
In 1939, the Louvre purchased Kahlo’s “The Frame,” making it the first work by a 20th-century Mexican artist to be acquired by an internationally renowned museum.
Frida’s self-portrait and the blue background are painted on aluminum foil while the border of birds and flowers is painted on the back of a glass that rests above the portrait.
The Frame Frida Kahlo Self-Portrait
The Frame is a 1938 self-portrait by Frida Kahlo. The painting is notable as the first work by a 20th-century Mexican artist to be acquired by a major international museum, when it was purchased by the Louvre in 1939. The painting now hangs at the Musée National d’ Art Moderne at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Since its completion in 1938 and its sale a year later, the artwork has slowly changed condition, with the floral design work above the portrait slowly fading. Over time, more and more of Frida’s self-portraits have begun to emerge from behind the frame, giving this piece an almost organic feel.
It was part of his Paris exhibition that attempted to present his creative work to a completely new audience for the first time. The French exhibition, titled “Mexique,” was dedicated to his birthplace and showcased a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, and photography.
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