Description
Diego and I is a small bust-length self-portrait that Frida Kahlo painted in 1949. She looks straight at us, tears run down her cheeks, her long dark hair hangs loose and winds around her neck, and in the middle of her forehead she wears a tiny portrait of her husband Diego Rivera, who has a third eye on his own forehead. The original, oil on canvas, is just 29.5 cm high and 22.4 cm wide and is now in the private collection of Eduardo Costantini. Our painter copies it by hand in oil colours on canvas, in one of 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 51 to 129 x 170 cm or made to measure, and every one of those sizes is larger than the original. Before it ships, you get a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | Diego and I |
| Other titles: | Diego y yo · Diego und ich |
| Painter: | Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) |
| Year painted: | 1949 |
| Original size: | 29.5 cm x 22.4 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Mexican modernism |
| Located at: | Private collection of Eduardo Costantini (founder of MALBA, Buenos Aires) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Diego and I – Frida Kahlo
What does Diego and I show?
A single face fills the whole canvas. Frida Kahlo painted herself from the shoulders up, her head turned slightly and her eyes fixed directly on the viewer. Her brows meet above the nose in one dark arch, her lips are bright red and her cheeks pink.
Tears fall from both eyes. Two drops shine under one eye and one under the other, and these tiny white highlights give an otherwise calm, serious face a strange tension.
Her long black hair is loose. It falls over her shoulders, covers much of the right half of the background, and thin strands wrap several times around her neck like a dense net. Below them, along the bottom edge, a yellow and brown patterned garment shows through.
Above the brows, in the centre of her forehead, sits a small portrait of Diego Rivera. His face is pale, a red triangle frames it under the chin, and a third eye is painted on his forehead. The background is olive green, dotted with a few red spots.
What does the title Diego and I tell us?
The title names two people, yet only one face appears at full size. Diego Rivera, the famous Mexican muralist, is not painted beside her but on her: small and pressed into her forehead, as if she carried him in her thoughts.
They married in 1929, later divorced and married again in 1940. Rivera appears in her work more than once; as early as 1931 she painted the couple together in a double portrait we offer as Frieda and Diego Rivera.
English Wikipedia does not explain what the tears and the third eye mean, so we claim no more than the canvas shows. Frida Kahlo said she painted herself because she was often alone and because she was the subject she knew best.
Why is this self-portrait so well known?
According to English Wikipedia, it is the last fully realised bust self-portrait Frida Kahlo completed before her death in 1954. She painted it five years before the end of her life, long after a bus accident at the age of eighteen had left her with lifelong pain.
It ranks among the famous Frida Kahlo paintings partly because it gathers everything people recognise her by: the direct gaze, the joined brows, the red lips and a personal story told without flattery.
The small size of the original adds to the sense of closeness. A short account of the work and its history is in the Wikipedia article (in English).
Where is the original Diego and I?
No public museum holds the original. It was bought by Eduardo Costantini, founder of MALBA, the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires, for his private collection.
It is oil on canvas, 29.5 cm high and 22.4 cm wide, roughly the size of a sheet of A4 paper. Every size we paint is therefore larger than the original.
Diego and I or another Kahlo self-portrait?
Diego and I is a focused canvas painting for a place where people pause: a study, a library corner, a bedroom or the hallway that leads to it.
If the idea of two people who are one appeals to you, look at The Two Fridas, where the painter sits beside her double and holds her hand. Diego’s face on her forehead returns in Diego in My Thoughts, and an equally direct gaze meets you in Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.
Every Kahlo work we paint is gathered on the Frida Kahlo page.
How does our painter paint your Diego and I?
Once you order, the painter covers the canvas with a warm ground tone and draws in the outline of head, ear and shoulders. He then builds the olive green background and the dark hair in thin layers.
Frida Kahlo painted with clear, bright colours and a smooth surface. Our painter follows that manner: the pink cheeks, red lips and yellow-brown garment get clean colour, while the transitions in the skin stay soft.
The finest work comes last. He draws the thin strands of hair around the neck with a fine brush, along with the tiny highlights of the tears and Diego’s face with its third eye, which in the larger sizes is big enough to show his features.
The result is a hand-painted copy, not a print: a Frida Kahlo reproduction built up layer on layer, each with its own thickness and sheen. That is what sets an oil painting reproduction apart on the wall.
Which size suits your wall?
In short: 40 x 51 or 45 x 60 cm for a desk, a bedside table or a narrow wall, 58 x 75 or 66 x 83 cm above a chest of drawers or in a hallway, 80 x 108 or 90 x 120 cm above a sofa or bed, and 113 x 155 or 129 x 170 cm for a large wall or a stairwell.
We offer 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 40 x 51, 45 x 60, 58 x 75, 66 x 83, 80 x 108, 90 x 120, 113 x 155 and 129 x 170 cm. All are larger than the original; the nearest is 40 x 51 cm, which is 17.6 cm wider and 21.5 cm taller.
Because the original is so small, the effect changes with the size. At 58 x 75 cm the face is roughly life-size; in the larger sizes it outgrows a human face and takes over the wall. As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 80 x 108 cm is a good choice; hang it with the lower edge some 20 cm above the backrest.
Can I order a different size or a frame?
Yes. The original is about 3 : 4 in proportion, so we can paint it in a size that is not on the list without taking space from the face or from Diego’s portrait. For a quote, send us the width and height you want, and we reply with price and timing.
Diego and I can come to you rolled, on a stretcher bar or already in its frame. Our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing, preparing every canvas we send out in the same way.
Frames are picked in our 3D application, a tool made for that one choice; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will Diego and I arrive?
We start painting as soon as you confirm the order. The work takes 15 to 45 working days, and before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished piece; if you want a correction, we make it.
Within Slovenia and to every other EU country the parcel travels without customs, and our returns policy covers every order.
Diego and I makes a fine gift for someone who loves Mexican art or honest portraits. If you would rather they chose the size and frame themselves, give them a wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original today?
In the private collection of Eduardo Costantini, founder of MALBA in Buenos Aires.
Whose face is on her forehead?
Diego Rivera’s, the Mexican painter and her husband, painted small and with a third eye.
Will I receive a print?
No. Each one is painted by hand on canvas with a brush and oil colours.
What size is the original?
29.5 cm high and 22.4 cm wide, about the size of an A4 sheet; all our sizes are larger.
Can I get it in another size?
Yes, we paint it in the size you give us and tell you the price first.
How long will I wait for it?
From 15 to 45 working days, then we ship it; no customs inside the EU.
Does it suit a bedroom or make a good gift?
Yes, in a bedroom or study it feels quiet, and lovers of Mexican art welcome it as a gift.
What do the tears mean?
There is no settled reading; we only see that she weeps while carrying Diego on her forehead.
- Subject: Frida Kahlo with tears on her cheeks, loose hair wound around her neck and a small portrait of Diego Rivera on her forehead.
- Original: 1949, oil on canvas, 29.5 x 22.4 cm, private collection of Eduardo Costantini.
- Ours: oil on canvas, painted by hand to order, in 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 51 to 129 x 170 cm or a size you choose.
- Worth knowing: English Wikipedia calls it her last fully realised bust self-portrait.
