Description
Itzcuintli Dog with Me is a self-portrait Frida Kahlo painted in 1938: she sits on a wooden chair in a dark embroidered blouse and a long skirt with a white ruffled hem, while a small hairless dog stands at her feet. The original, oil on canvas, is 71 cm high and 52 cm wide and belongs to a private collection in Dallas. Our painter recreates it to your order in oil colours on canvas, in one of 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 52 to 130 x 185 cm or made to measure, and you receive a photograph of the finished painting before it ships.
| Title: | Itzcuintli Dog with Me |
| Other titles: | Perro Itzcuintli conmigo · Itzcuintli-Hund mit mir |
| Painter: | Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) |
| Year painted: | 1938 |
| Original size: | 71 cm x 52 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Mexican modernism |
| Located at: | Private collection, Dallas |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Itzcuintli Dog with Me – Frida Kahlo
What do we see in Itzcuintli Dog with Me?
Frida Kahlo shows herself full-length, seated on a plain wooden chair with a backrest and turned slightly to the right. Behind her is an almost empty wall in greys and whites that recall a cloudy sky, divided from the floor by a dark band.
She wears a dark blue, nearly black blouse with short sleeves, decorated at the front and sides with broad gold embroidery and scattered with tiny white dots. Around her neck hangs a long string of small pearls that drops below a ring almost to her waist. Her hair is braided with blue ribbons, and a large blue bow hangs beside her ear.
Her hands rest crossed in her lap, a thin white cigarette between the fingers of her right hand. The long skirt of glossy dark fabric falls in soft folds and ends in a white ruffle that nearly brushes the floor.
Lower right, close to the hem, stands a tiny grey hairless dog with large upright ears, looking straight out at us. Beside the artist it is so small that the eye often finds it only on a second look.
How did the painting come about in 1938?
According to Wikipedia, in 1937 and 1938 Frida Kahlo painted more than in all eight previous years of her marriage to Diego Rivera.
In April 1938 the French Surrealist André Breton visited Rivera. Impressed by Kahlo’s work, he called it “a ribbon around a bomb” and wrote to the art dealer Julien Levy, who invited her to hold her first solo exhibition in New York.
In October she travelled to New York alone, where her colourful Mexican dress caused a sensation; the show at Levy’s gallery opened in November. This self-portrait comes from that very year, when she was becoming known beyond Mexico.
Why is this self-portrait so well loved?
In most of her self-portraits Frida Kahlo paints her face like a mask and surrounds it with signs from which the viewer reads deeper meanings. Here there is only one such sign: the little dog in the middle of the empty floor.
The title calls it an itzcuintli. At the Blue House (La Casa Azul) in Coyoacán the painter kept many animals, among them Xoloitzcuintli dogs, spider monkeys and parrots. In the painting the dog is the only other living creature in an otherwise empty room.
The wide empty space above her head and around her gives the scene a calm, almost solemn mood. For more on her life, the pain that followed a bus accident at eighteen, and her work, read the English Wikipedia article on Frida Kahlo; this painting has no article of its own there.
Where is the original kept?
The original belongs to a private collection in Dallas, Texas, so it is not on permanent display in any museum.
We take the year, technique, measurements and location of the collection from the English Wikipedia list of Kahlo’s works; it says nothing about later owners.
Because the original is out of public view, a hand-painted copy is the most direct way to hang this quiet scene at home.
Itzcuintli Dog with Me or another Kahlo painting?
This canvas painting is upright, calm and elegant: the cool grey of the wall, the dark blue skirt and the gold embroidery go well with pale walls, dark wood and metal accents. It suits a bedroom, a hallway or a dining room.
Fond of animals? Me and My Parrots from 1941 shows the artist with four birds, and Self-Portrait with Monkey from 1940 with a small monkey behind her shoulder.
From the same year, 1938, comes What the Water Gave Me, and by buying The Frame in 1939 the Louvre made Frida Kahlo the first Mexican artist in its collection. Our Frida Kahlo page brings together the famous Frida Kahlo paintings we paint to order.
How does our painter paint this self-portrait?
The original is oil on canvas, like our version, so the painter works on the same support Frida Kahlo used. The surface is smooth and the colours flat and clear, with no thick impasto, so every transition has to be blended with care.
He first lays in the cloudy grey wall and the olive floor, then builds up the face, the hands and the dark skirt in thin layers, its folds catching bluish highlights.
The most patience goes into the gold embroidery of the blouse, the white dots on the dark fabric, the pearls of the necklace and the blue ribbons in her braids. The dog is painted to the right scale, small and delicate, with thin legs and pale ears.
The result is a Frida Kahlo reproduction with real layers of paint that no print can imitate. We paint every order separately, so each oil painting reproduction leaving our hands is unique.
Which size works on your wall?
In short: 40 x 52 or 45 x 60 cm for a hallway or narrow wall, 57 x 79 or 66 x 87 cm above a chest of drawers or desk, 84 x 110 or 91 x 127 cm above a bed or sofa, and 105 x 145 or 130 x 185 cm for a tall wall or beside the stairs.
There are 8 portrait sizes to choose from (width x height): 40 x 52, 45 x 60, 57 x 79, 66 x 87, 84 x 110, 91 x 127, 105 x 145 and 130 x 185 cm. The size closest to the original is 57 x 79 cm, which is 5 cm wider and 8 cm taller; 45 x 60 cm is 7 cm narrower and 11 cm shorter.
As a painting for the living room, 84 x 110 and 91 x 127 cm work best, because at the larger size even the tiny dog by the hem stays clearly visible.
Can I order a different size or a frame?
If you need a size that is not on the list, we also paint it to your measurements, keeping the empty space above the artist and the dog at her feet. Send us the width and height you want, and we reply with a price and a delivery time.
We ship it rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed, and the stretching and framing are done by our own workshop in Slovenia. The 3D app on our site is where you choose the frame, and that is all it does; showing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will my painting arrive?
Once you confirm the order, the painter starts, and in 15 to 45 working days the painting is ready to travel. Before dispatch you get a photograph of the finished painting, and if you would like something changed, the painter corrects it.
Parcels within Slovenia and the rest of the EU pass no customs, and every order is covered by our returns policy.
It makes a lovely gift for dog lovers and for anyone fond of Mexican culture or Frida Kahlo. Unsure about the size? A wall art voucher leaves that choice to the person you give it to.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
Nowhere in public: the original is in a private collection in Dallas, USA.
What kind of dog is in the painting?
A small grey hairless dog with big ears; the title calls it an itzcuintli.
Is this a printed copy?
No, the painter paints it with a brush and oil colours on canvas, with no printing at all.
How big is the original?
It is 71 cm high and 52 cm wide; our nearest size, 57 x 79 cm, is slightly larger.
Can you paint it in another size?
Yes, to your width and height, and we tell you the price and timing in advance.
How long do I wait for the painting?
Painting takes 15 to 45 working days, and there are no customs within the EU.
Could a dog lover hang it in the bedroom?
Yes, the quiet greys and the seated figure sit well in a bedroom, and it also makes a kind present.
What does the dog beside the artist mean?
There is no single reading; Kahlo kept Xoloitzcuintli dogs and other animals at home, and in the painting the dog is her only companion.
- Subject: Frida Kahlo seated on a wooden chair in a dark embroidered blouse and long skirt, with a small hairless dog beside her.
- Original: 1938, oil on canvas, 71 x 52 cm, private collection, Dallas.
- Ours: painted by hand in oil on canvas just for you, in 8 portrait sizes between 40 x 52 and 130 x 185 cm or a size of your choosing.
- Worth knowing: It dates from 1938, the year of the artist’s first solo exhibition in New York.
