Description
The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Myself, Diego, and Señor Xolotl is a painting Frida Kahlo made in 1949: the vast hands of a universe, half dark and half light, cradle the earth in the form of a woman, the earth holds the artist, and the artist holds Diego as a baby in her lap. The original, oil on masonite, is 70 cm high and 60.5 cm wide and belongs to the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Our painter carries it over to canvas in oil colours, in one of 8 portrait sizes from 42 x 50 to 149 x 180 cm or in a size you name; we send you a photograph of the finished painting before it is packed.
| Title: | The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Myself, Diego, and Señor Xolotl |
| Other titles: | El abrazo de amor de el universo, la tierra (México), yo, Diego y el señor Xólotl · Die Liebesumarmung des Universums, der Erde (Mexiko), meiner selbst, Diegos und Señor Xolotls |
| Painter: | Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) |
| Year painted: | 1949 |
| Original size: | 70 cm x 60.5 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on masonite |
| Painting style: | Mexican modernism |
| Located at: | Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, Mexico City |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Myself, Diego, and Señor Xolotl – Frida Kahlo
What can you see in the painting?
The background splits in two: a dark brown night sky with a pale yellow moon on the left, a light, cloudy sky with a red-orange sun on the right. A pale face surfaces from the clouds at top right, and below, two huge hands, one dark and one light, meet and carry everything else.
In the middle sits the earth, a sturdy female figure in greenish and brown tones with long, ropy strands of hair. Cacti and a small tree grow from her shoulders and body, dark cracks run across her skin, and a drop of milk falls from her breast. With both arms she holds Frida Kahlo.
The artist wears a red blouse, her long black hair hangs loose, and her serious gaze meets the viewer head-on. In her lap she holds Diego as a baby. A third eye sits on his forehead and a small flame burns in his hands. Beneath the pair spreads a round red shape resting on white rays.
At the lower left, on the dark arm of the universe, a small dark dog sleeps; the title calls him Señor Xolotl. Cacti and other plants surround the figures, and fine roots hang below the hands.
What does this chain of embraces mean?
English Wikipedia reads the work as layers of embraces: the double face of the universe holds a murkier earth (Mexico), the earth holds the artist, and she holds Diego. The symbols return to her recurring themes of womanhood, motherhood and her bond with Diego Rivera.
Art historian Chelsey Miller saw in such works how deeply Kahlo felt tied to the earth and its feminine energies; a woman’s body grown over with plants stands for the earth as the source of life.
The third eye on Diego’s forehead often marks a deity or a person of great wisdom; Kahlo counted Rivera among the most brilliant people in the world.
The article also notes that Rivera did not want children, and that Kahlo and two mothers of his children once agreed he was himself like a child, a thought the painting shows directly. The couple married in 1929, divorced in 1939 and remarried in 1940.
Why is this painting so well known?
Among famous Frida Kahlo paintings, this one passes through many hands in Mexico: it is printed on a banknote.
In 2010 the Bank of Mexico issued the Series F 500-peso note, with Diego Rivera on the front and this work on the back.
The symbolism is set out in detail in the English Wikipedia article on this work, together with a reading list on the artist.
Where is the original kept?
The original belongs to the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection in Mexico City, which also owns Diego in My Thoughts, another work we paint to order.
The original is oil on masonite, a hard panel of pressed fibre, 70 cm high and 60.5 cm wide.
Our version is made on canvas and is not a print: the painter lays every coat of paint with a brush.
The Love Embrace or another Kahlo work?
This canvas painting comes in portrait format, warm and a little mysterious, half in dark browns and half in light grey-green. It shows best up close: in a bedroom, a home office or beside a bookcase.
A similar depiction of Diego with a third eye appears in Diego and I, painted the same year. Plants growing through the artist’s body are at the heart of Roots from 1943.
If you like the Gelman Collection, see Self-Portrait with Braid too. Our Frida Kahlo page holds more than fifty further works of hers that we paint to order.
How does our painter paint this entwined embrace?
Kahlo painted on a rigid masonite panel, so the surface is smooth, with hardly a visible brushstroke; our painter keeps it smooth on canvas with thin, level coats.
First he divides the canvas into a dark and a light half and draws the outlines of the hands, the earth and the two figures. Then he builds colour from the background forward: clouds and heavenly bodies, the brown-green body of the earth, the red blouse and the pale skin of the baby.
The small details take longest: strands of hair, cactus spines, threads of root, the flame in Diego’s hands and his third eye. He paints them with a fine brush, coat after coat, until this Frida Kahlo reproduction is as clear as its model.
Each order is painted separately, so every oil painting reproduction that leaves our hands carries its painter’s marks and is one of a kind.
Which size suits your wall?
In short: 42 x 50 or 47 x 56 cm for a hallway or above a bedside table, 64 x 76 or 72 x 85 cm above a chest of drawers or a desk, 90 x 107 or 102 x 122 cm above a bed or a sofa, and 120 x 140 or 149 x 180 cm for a tall wall by the stairs.
We offer 8 portrait formats (width x height): 42 x 50, 47 x 56, 64 x 76, 72 x 85, 90 x 107, 102 x 122, 120 x 140 and 149 x 180 cm. Closest to the original is 64 x 76 cm, which is 3.5 cm wider and 6 cm taller.
As a painting for the living room above a low sideboard or on a narrow wall between two windows, 90 x 107 and 102 x 122 cm work well, because the upright format stresses the height of the room.
Can I order a different size or a frame?
The original is about a sixth taller than wide, so we can paint the embrace in a size off the list; the margin simply grows or shrinks a little while the figures stay intact. Tell us the width and height, and we will reply with a price and a delivery time.
The Love Embrace can come rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed, and our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing. You choose its frame in our 3D app, which is for frame choice only; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
How long does it take, and how does the painting reach me?
Once you confirm, the painter begins, and within 15 to 45 working days the embrace is ready to ship. First we send you a photograph of the finished painting, and any change you ask for is made before dispatch.
A parcel carrying the Love Embrace within Slovenia or to another EU country passes no customs, and the order is covered by our returns policy.
Because the painting speaks of love, it makes a fine gift for a partner or an anniversary. Unsure of the size? Choose a wall art voucher and let the recipient pick the work and the size.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
The Love Embrace is held in Mexico City, in the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection.
Who is Señor Xolotl in the painting?
The small dark dog asleep at the lower left; his name comes from Aztec mythology.
Is it a print?
No. This hand-painted copy is made with a brush and oil colours on canvas, one coat after another.
How big is the original?
It is 70 cm high and 60.5 cm wide; our 64 x 76 cm format is 3.5 and 6 cm larger.
Will you paint it in another size?
Yes, give us the width and height, and you will know the price and the deadline before we begin.
How soon will I receive it?
Painting takes 15 to 45 working days, then we ship, customs-free inside the EU.
Does it suit a bedroom or work as a gift?
Yes: its theme of love suits a bedroom, and as a gift for a partner it speaks for itself.
What does the third eye on Diego’s forehead mean?
Following the Wikipedia reading, it stands for wisdom; Kahlo considered Rivera an exceptionally brilliant man.
- Subject: a universe split into day and night embraces the earth (Mexico), the earth embraces the artist, and she holds Diego as a baby; below sleeps the dog Xolotl.
- Original: 1949, oil on masonite, 70 x 60.5 cm, Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, Mexico City.
- Ours: hand-painted oil on canvas, made only once you order, in 8 portrait sizes from 42 x 50 to 149 x 180 cm or in your own size.
- Worth knowing: Since 2010 the work has appeared on the back of the Mexican Series F 500-peso note.
