Description
Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress is a 1926 work by Frida Kahlo and her oldest surviving self-portrait: the young painter, in a wine-red velvet dress with a patterned collar, appears before a dark sea of stylised waves, with a long neck and a calm, steady gaze. The original, oil on canvas, is 79 cm high and 58 cm wide and is held in a private collection in Mexico City. Our painter recreates it for you by hand in oil colours on canvas, in one of 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 52 to 151 x 200 cm or made to measure, and before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished piece.
| Title: | Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress |
| Other titles: | Autorretrato con traje de terciopelo · Autorretrato con vestido de terciopelo |
| Painter: | Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) |
| Year painted: | 1926 |
| Original size: | 79 cm x 58 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Mexican modernism |
| Located at: | Private collection, Mexico City |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress – Frida Kahlo
What does Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress show?
Frida Kahlo painted herself half-length, her face turned towards us. Her dark hair is parted in the centre and combed smoothly back into a chignon, which sets off her oval face and even features. Thick brows almost meet above her nose, and her dark eyes look straight at us.
The dress is wine-red velvet. A broad collar with red, curling ornaments on a dark ground frames the deep neckline, and the sleeve ends in a striped cuff. She holds her right hand in front of her body, the fingers long, slender and slightly spread.
Her neck is strikingly long and her shoulders narrow, so the figure looks upright, almost ceremonial.
Behind her stretches a sea as dark as night. The waves are drawn as decorative spirals in greyish violet, and in the upper left a white cloud hangs above the horizon. With the background close to black, the light gathers on her face, neck and hand.
How did the self-portrait come about?
At 18, Frida Kahlo was badly injured when the bus she was riding in collided with a trolley car. She never fully recovered from her injuries and lived with pain for the rest of her life.
During her long recovery her parents gave her an easel and paints and fixed a mirror above her bed so she could see herself lying down. She painted this self-portrait in that period.
She made it for Alejandro Gómez Arias, her boyfriend at the time. In late summer 1926, after their relationship had cooled, she began the painting to win him back. When she sent it, her letter asked him to hang it low, where he could look at it as if he were looking at her, and she called it his Botticelli.
The gift worked at first and the couple reconciled, though Alejandro later moved to Europe while Kahlo stayed in Mexico to paint.
Why does this painting matter so much?
It is regarded as her first significant self-portrait and is the oldest that survives. Writers have called it her first serious work, and some her first real painting.
At the time she looked to the Italian Renaissance. The aristocratic, slightly melancholy pose and the elongated neck recall the style of Amedeo Modigliani, while the red dress and slender fingers bring Sandro Botticelli and Bronzino to mind.
This is the first time Kahlo painted herself with the strong joined brows that later became a fixture of her self-portraits. Her later work turns to Indigenous Mexican themes, whereas this one still looks firmly European. The scholar Laura Perez points to exactly that gap: in the later self-portraits Kahlo gives up an idealised, European-tinged femininity.
Authors and poets have since borrowed its title. The background and readings are covered in the Wikipedia article (in English).
Where is the original today?
The original belongs to a private collection in Mexico City. Its first owner was Alejandro Gómez Arias, to whom Kahlo sent it in 1926 as a personal gift.
It is painted in oil on canvas and measures 79 cm in height and 58 cm in width.
This self-portrait or another Kahlo work?
This canvas painting is dark, warm and quiet. Its wine red and near-black background sit well with wooden furniture and deep green or brick-coloured walls.
Kahlo painted the man it was meant for two years later: see Portrait of Alejandro Gómez Arias. Four years younger is the self-portrait in a blue blouse against a pink wall, Self-Portrait (1930).
How her expression changed later can be seen in Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird and in the double self-portrait The Two Fridas. Other famous Frida Kahlo paintings we paint to order are collected on the Frida Kahlo page.
How does the painter bring the self-portrait onto canvas?
Here Kahlo painted more softly than she would later: the face and neck are modelled with gentle shifts of light, while the dress and the sea are built from broader, calmer areas. Our painter keeps that difference and lays it onto canvas in oil colours, layer by layer.
He first blocks in the dark background and the red dress, then builds the pale skin in thin glazes for warmth without hard edges. The greyish-violet spiral waves come next, and the cloud, which has to stay light.
Last come the details that give the painting its character: the joined brows, the glint in the eyes, the red ornaments on the collar, the stripes of the cuff and the long fingers. The result is a Frida Kahlo reproduction with real layers of paint, something no print can replace.
As an oil painting reproduction with a dark ground, it is best hung where no harsh light falls on it straight from the front, so the surface does not catch a glare.
Which size suits your wall?
In short: 49 x 69 or 57 x 79 cm for a bedroom or a narrow wall, 84 x 110 or 105 x 145 cm above a sofa, and 120 x 160 or 151 x 200 cm for a large empty wall.
We paint the self-portrait in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 40 x 52, 49 x 69, 57 x 79, 73 x 100, 84 x 110, 105 x 145, 120 x 160 and 151 x 200 cm. Closest to the original is 57 x 79 cm, the same height but 1 cm narrower.
The smallest size, 40 x 52 cm, suits a spot above a bedside table. As a painting for the living room, 84 x 110 cm already works above a two-seater, and 105 x 145 cm above a larger sofa; keep the lower edge about 20 cm above the backrest.
Kahlo wanted the painting hung low, so that whoever looked at it would meet her eyes. With her face at roughly eye level, her gaze still meets everyone who walks in.
Is another size or a frame possible?
If you need a size that is not on the list, write to us with the width and height. We reply with a price and a delivery time.
Kahlo sent the painting to Alejandro without a frame and apologised for it in her letter. You have the choice: it can come rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed, and our workshop in Slovenia takes care of the stretching and framing.
You pick the frame in our 3D app, which is only for choosing frames; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service. Dark wood or a slim gold moulding goes well with the dark dress.
When will my painting arrive?
We begin painting once you confirm the order, and the painting is ready in 15 to 45 working days. Before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished self-portrait and still take your requests for changes on board.
Within Slovenia and the rest of the EU the parcel travels without customs clearance, and our returns policy covers every purchase.
Since the original was made as a gift for someone she loved, this self-portrait is a fine present for a partner or for anyone drawn to Mexican art. To let them pick the size on their own, a wall art voucher does the job.
Frequently asked questions
Where can the original be found?
In a private collection in Mexico City, not in a public museum.
Who is in the painting?
The young Frida Kahlo in a red velvet dress before a dark, rolling sea.
Will I get a print?
No, it is a hand-painted copy: the painter works it in brush and oil colours on canvas.
How big is the original?
It is 79 cm high and 58 cm wide; our 57 x 79 cm size is the same height and 1 cm narrower.
Can I order it in a different size?
Yes, we paint it in the width and height you ask for and quote the price in advance.
How long does delivery take?
The work takes 15 to 45 working days to paint; we then ship it, and there are no customs formalities within the EU.
Does it suit a bedroom?
Yes, the dark, warm tones and calm gaze fit a bedroom or a study well.
Why is Kahlo’s neck so long here?
The elongated neck follows the style of Amedeo Modigliani; at the time Kahlo was drawing on European painting.
- Subject: the young Frida Kahlo in a wine-red velvet dress before a dark sea of spiralling waves.
- Original: 1926, oil on canvas, 79 x 58 cm, private collection, Mexico City.
- Ours: hand-painted in oil colours on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 52 to 151 x 200 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: Kahlo gave the painting to Alejandro Gómez Arias and called it his Botticelli in her letter.
