Description
The Frame is a 1938 self-portrait by Frida Kahlo: her face, with yellow flowers in her hair, is set against a blue ground and ringed by a bright border of red, pink and blue flowers, with a yellow bird in each lower corner. The original is small, 28.5 cm high and 20.7 cm wide; she painted it in oil on a sheet of aluminium and set it behind decorated glass, and today it belongs to the Musée National d’Art Moderne at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oil on canvas, in one of 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 55 to 130 x 185 cm or made to measure; before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | The Frame |
| Other titles: | El marco · Der Rahmen |
| Painter: | Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) |
| Year painted: | 1938 |
| Original size: | 28.5 cm x 20.7 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on aluminium and glass |
| Painting style: | Mexican modernism |
| Located at: | Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
The Frame – Frida Kahlo
What does The Frame show?
At the centre is a head-and-shoulders portrait. Frida Kahlo looks straight at us, with red lips and dark brows that meet above her nose. Her dark hair is braided and pinned up, a large yellow flower sits on top and a green ribbon shows at the side.
She wears a dark green blouse with a narrow yellow edge at the neck. Behind her head lies a deep blue field that closes in an arch at the top, so her face seems to stand in a small niche.
A broad decorative border runs around the niche. Red and pink blossoms, blue rosettes, orange and yellow arcs and star patterns fill it. At the lower left and right two yellow birds spread their wings, and between them, at the very bottom, sits a yellow heart inside a blue flower.
The colours are warm and strong and the drawing of the border is simple, like a piece of folk craft from a market stall.
Where did the flowered glass come from?
Kahlo bought the glass frame at a market in Oaxaca, in southern Mexico. The flowers, birds and other details were already painted on the glass when she bought it, so they are not her own work.
She painted her portrait in oil on a thin sheet of aluminium and placed it behind that glass. The bought frame thus became part of the work, and her face is seen through its decorated glass.
Kahlo drew her main inspiration from Mexican folk culture, and here the link is literal, because a piece of local craft surrounds her face. The work dates from 1938, the year of her first solo exhibition, at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York.
Why is this small painting so famous?
The Frame is the first work by a 20th-century Mexican artist to be bought by a major international museum. The Louvre acquired it in 1939, which made Frida Kahlo the first Mexican artist represented in its collection.
It was also the only sale she made at her Paris exhibition. When she died in 1954, The New York Times reported that she was said to have been the first woman artist to sell a work to the Louvre.
More on the history of the work is in the Wikipedia article (in English).
Where is the original today?
The original belongs to the Musée National d’Art Moderne, France’s national museum of modern art, housed in the Centre Pompidou in Paris. It was bought by the Louvre in 1939 and is now shown at the Centre Pompidou.
The sale came during her Paris exhibition, which opened in March 1939 and, partly because of the looming Second World War, drew less attention than her shows in the United States.
The Frame or another Kahlo self-portrait?
This upright canvas painting is cheerful and full of colour, so it lifts a white or grey wall, a hallway, a bedroom or a reading corner.
Kahlo painted herself throughout her life. An early example is Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress of 1926, in dark red velvet. Three years after this work came Self-Portrait with Braid, with a large looped braid on her head and broad green leaves around her shoulders.
The whole figure between two white curtains appears in Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky, and another frontal view, with a thorn necklace, a black cat and a monkey, is Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. The other famous Frida Kahlo paintings we offer, from early portraits to late works, are gathered on the Frida Kahlo page.
How does our painter paint your copy?
Frida Kahlo painted in flat, bright colours with clear outlines, on a smooth surface with hardly a brushmark to be seen. Our painter keeps that character but works in oil on canvas rather than on aluminium and glass. The shine of metal and glass is therefore absent, and the flowered border becomes a painted part of the same composition as the face.
First come thin layers for the blue niche, the dark green blouse and the large areas of the border. Then the face takes shape: the warm skin, the shadow under the chin, the red lips and the dark eyes.
The details come last: the petals of the yellow flower, the green ribbon, the feathers of both birds and the pale dots in the flowers. What you receive is a Frida Kahlo reproduction whose colour sits in genuine layers, which a print cannot match. As an oil painting reproduction, it carries a soft sheen that shifts with the light in the room.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 40 x 55 or 47 x 62 cm beside a bedside table, above a shelf or in a narrow hallway, 60 x 81 or 68 x 90 cm above a chest of drawers or a bed, 84 x 115 or 95 x 128 cm above a sofa, and 105 x 145 or 130 x 185 cm for a large wall or a stairwell.
We paint The Frame in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 40 x 55, 47 x 62, 60 x 81, 68 x 90, 84 x 115, 95 x 128, 105 x 145 and 130 x 185 cm. Every one of them is larger than the original; even the smallest, 40 x 55 cm, is 19.3 cm wider and 26.5 cm taller.
The larger sizes are best seen from a few steps back, where the face and the flower border come together as one. As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 84 x 115 and 95 x 128 cm work well.
Is another size or a frame possible?
The original is roughly 5 : 7 in proportion, so we can also paint it in a size that is not on the list without cropping the flowered border. Tell us the width and height you need, and we will reply with a price and a delivery time.
You can have it rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed; the stretching and framing are done by our workshop in Slovenia. As the work already carries its own painted border, a slim, plain frame suits it best.
The 3D app on our site lets you pick the frame and nothing more; a preview on your own wall is a separate service.
When and how will the painting arrive?
Painting starts as soon as you confirm your order, and your copy of The Frame is ready to leave us within 15 to 45 working days. Before that we send you a photograph of the finished work; if you would like anything changed, we change it.
Your Frame travels to Slovenia or any other EU country without customs, and our returns policy covers every order.
A small, bright face in a garland of flowers makes a lovely gift for anyone who loves Mexican art, flowers or strong colour. If you would rather they chose the size themselves, give a wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
At the Musée National d’Art Moderne in the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
What can you see in it?
A head-and-shoulders self-portrait of Frida Kahlo with a yellow flower in her hair on blue, ringed by flowers and two birds.
Will I receive a print?
No, you receive a hand-painted copy, made by our painter in oil colours on canvas.
How big is the original?
Only 28.5 cm high and 20.7 cm wide, so every size we offer is larger.
Can I order a different size?
Yes, in the width and height of your choice, with the price confirmed in advance.
How long does it take?
From 15 to 45 working days; then we ship, with no customs inside the EU.
Does it suit a bedroom?
Yes, the smaller sizes 40 x 55 or 47 x 62 cm look good beside a bed or above a bedside table.
Why is it called The Frame?
Because Kahlo set her portrait inside a decorated glass frame bought at a market in Oaxaca, and that frame became part of the work.
- Subject: Frida Kahlo seen from the front, a yellow flower in her hair, on blue inside a bright border of flowers and two birds.
- Original: 1938, oil on aluminium and glass, 28.5 x 20.7 cm, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris.
- Ours: oil on canvas, painted by hand for you by our painter; 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 55 to 130 x 185 cm or any size you name.
- Worth knowing: In 1939 the Louvre bought it, the first work by a 20th-century Mexican artist acquired by a major international museum.
