Description
Fruits of the Earth is a still life Frida Kahlo painted in 1938: on a wooden table stands a round dish heaped with mushrooms and Mexican fruit, three ears of corn lie beside it, and a cloudy sky stretches above. The original, oil on masonite, is 60 cm wide and 40.6 cm high and belongs to the collection of Banco Nacional de México in Mexico City. Our painter paints it by hand in oil colours on canvas, in one of 8 landscape sizes from 60 x 39 to 190 x 130 cm or made to measure; before it ships, you receive a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | Fruits of the Earth |
| Other titles: | Frutos de la tierra · Früchte der Erde |
| Painter: | Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) |
| Year painted: | 1938 |
| Original size: | 40.6 cm x 60 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on masonite |
| Painting style: | Mexican modernism |
| Located at: | Banco Nacional de México collection, Mexico City |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Fruits of the Earth – Frida Kahlo
What does Fruits of the Earth show?
The scene is set on a broad table of pale planks, their grain, knots and the gaps between the boards all clearly visible. The table fills the lower two thirds of the surface; behind it there is only a sky of grey-white and dark clouds.
In the middle sits a shallow round dish, loaded to the rim. It holds mushrooms of very different shapes: two round brown ones with orange edges at the front, a pale, slender mushroom rising steeply upward, an orange funnel-shaped one and a pallid mushroom turning its fine, splayed gills towards the viewer.
Fruit is tucked in among the mushrooms: a large green fruit with a spiny skin, two cut halves with red, grainy flesh, a white, furrowed fruit, dark reddish-brown fruits and an elongated green fruit with a red cut end.
To the left of the dish lie two ears of corn still wrapped in pale green husks. On the right lies a third, its husk peeled open to reveal white kernels in straight rows. The colours are subdued: the ochre of the wood, the browns and greys of the mushrooms, the green of the corn and only a few accents of bright red.
How did this still life come about?
According to Wikipedia, in 1937 and 1938 Kahlo painted more than in all eight previous years of her marriage to Diego Rivera. This painting comes from that productive spell.
From the end of the 1920s she drew more and more on Mexican folk art. Like many Mexican artists of her time, she was shaped by Mexicanidad, a romantic nationalism that put Indigenous cultures first after the revolution.
Wikipedia describes her as a painter known for portraits, self-portraits and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. This still life belongs to that last group: there is nothing on the table but corn, mushrooms and fruit, gifts of the soil, just as the title says.
Why is this still life special?
Most people know Kahlo through her self-portraits, so a quiet painting without her face surprises many. In her last years, when she was mostly confined to the Blue House in Coyoacán, she painted chiefly still lifes of fruit and flowers; this one from 1938 is much earlier.
There are no flags, doves or inscriptions here, of the kind she later added to still lifes with a political message. Only fruit, mushrooms and clouds remain, painted with the same patience as the faces in her portraits.
For her life, illnesses and exhibitions, see the Wikipedia article on the painter (in English); this work has no article of its own.
Where is the original of Fruits of the Earth?
The original belongs to the Mexican bank Banco Nacional de México and is part of its art collection in Mexico City. It is painted in oil on masonite, a rigid board of pressed wood fibres, and measures 40.6 cm high by 60 cm wide.
We take the year, technique, measurements and owner from the list of Kahlo’s paintings on English Wikipedia. That source does not say when or where the original can be seen.
If you would like this still life at home, a hand-painted copy on canvas is the way, made by our painter only once you order it.
Fruits of the Earth or another Kahlo still life?
This canvas painting is in landscape format with warm, earthy colours, so it suits a kitchen, a dining room or a home full of wooden furniture.
From the same year comes What the Water Gave Me, which Wikipedia lists among the works of that productive phase. Fruit is also the star of the late Viva la Vida (Watermelons), with whole and cut watermelons beneath a blue sky.
A fruit still life from her final years is Living Nature of 1952, while flowers take centre stage in Magnolias of 1945. Browse all the famous Frida Kahlo paintings we paint to order on our Frida Kahlo page.
How does our painter paint the mushrooms, corn and clouds?
Kahlo painted this still life on masonite, whereas our painter works on canvas, which is stretched on a stretcher bar once the painting is done. The surface of the original is smooth, without thick paint, and we keep ours just as smooth.
He first lays in the outlines of the table, the dish and the corn, then applies the ochre of the wood and the greys of the sky in thin layers.
The small passages demand the most patience: the white kernels in rows, the fine hairs on the spiny fruit, the gills under the mushroom cap and the red, grainy flesh of the cut fruit. The result is a Frida Kahlo reproduction with paint layers you can feel, something no print offers. Because every order is painted separately, each oil painting reproduction we make is one of a kind.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 60 x 39 or 70 x 45 cm above a kitchen counter or in a narrow space, 78 x 51 or 100 x 68 cm above a dining table or a sideboard, 110 x 78 or 145 x 100 cm above a sofa, and 165 x 110 or 190 x 130 cm for a large empty wall.
We paint it in 8 landscape sizes (width x height): 60 x 39, 70 x 45, 78 x 51, 100 x 68, 110 x 78, 145 x 100, 165 x 110 and 190 x 130 cm. Closest to the original is 60 x 39 cm, the same width but 1.6 cm lower; 70 x 45 cm is 10 cm wider and 4.4 cm taller than the original.
As a painting for the living room above a three-seater sofa, 110 x 78 and 145 x 100 cm work well.
Can I choose another size or a frame?
The original is roughly 3 : 2, so we can paint sizes off the list without cropping the corn at the edge or the clouds. Send us the width and height you want, and we reply with a price and a delivery time.
It leaves us rolled, on a stretcher bar or in a frame, and the stretching and framing happen in our own workshop in Slovenia. Our 3D app is where you try out frames and nothing more; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service we offer.
The warm wood in the painting suits a plain frame in natural or walnut-brown wood, while a slim dark frame brings out the greys of the sky.
When will it arrive, and how does it travel?
The painter starts as soon as you confirm the order, and the painting is ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days. Before we pack it, we send you a photograph of the finished painting; if you want something changed, the painter still corrects it.
Parcels to Slovenia and the other EU countries go through no customs, and our returns policy applies to every order.
Fruits of the Earth makes a welcome gift for anyone who loves cooking, gardening or Mexican culture. If the size is better left to the person receiving it, a wall art voucher lets them pick.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original kept?
In the collection of Banco Nacional de México in Mexico City.
What is on the table?
A dish of mushrooms and fruit and three ears of corn, with a cloudy sky above.
Will I get a print?
No, our painter paints it with a brush and oil colours on canvas; nothing is printed.
How big is the original?
It is 60 cm wide and 40.6 cm high; our 60 x 39 cm size is the same width and 1.6 cm lower.
Do you paint sizes that are not listed?
Yes, give us the width and height, and you learn the price and delivery time in advance.
How long will I wait?
Painting takes 15 to 45 working days, then we ship; within the EU there are no customs.
Does it suit a kitchen or dining room?
Yes, a still life of corn, mushrooms and fruit feels made for the rooms where people cook and eat.
What does the still life mean?
The title speaks of the gifts of the earth; our sources give no more detailed explanation from the painter.
- Subject: mushrooms, Mexican fruit and corn on a wooden table under a cloudy sky.
- Original: 1938, oil on masonite, 40.6 x 60 cm, Banco Nacional de México collection, Mexico City.
- Ours: hand-painted in oil on canvas to your order, in 8 landscape sizes from 60 x 39 to 190 x 130 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: The original is on masonite, ours on canvas; it was painted in a year when Kahlo worked unusually hard.
