Description
Self-Portrait with Monkey and Parrot is a 1942 painting in which Frida Kahlo looks straight out at us: a black monkey presses against her right shoulder, a green, yellow-headed parrot perches on her left, and large pale leaves fan out behind her against an ochre ground. The original, oil on masonite, measures 54.6 x 43.2 cm and is in the collection of MALBA in Buenos Aires. Our painter recreates it in oil colours on canvas in a single size, 40 x 49 cm, and we send you a photograph of the finished work before it is dispatched.
| Title: | Self-Portrait with Monkey and Parrot |
| Other titles: | Autorretrato con mono y perico · Selbstporträt mit Affe und Papagei |
| Painter: | Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) |
| Year painted: | 1942 |
| Original size: | 54.6 cm x 43.2 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on masonite |
| Painting style: | Mexican modernism |
| Located at: | Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 1 sizes or made to measure |
Self-Portrait with Monkey and Parrot – Frida Kahlo
What can you see in Self-Portrait with Monkey and Parrot?
The artist shows herself from the shoulders up, her face turned almost fully towards the viewer. Her dark brows join above the nose in a single arch, her lips are red, and a strong flush burns on both cheeks, warming the whole face.
Her thick braids are wound around her head like a crown, threaded with a yellow-green cord that catches the light.
On the left of the painting, against her right shoulder, sits a black monkey with dense, tousled fur. It holds its head in profile, turned towards her face, and its dark fur reaches the bottom edge.
On the opposite side, on her left shoulder, a green parrot with a yellowish head and a pale, hooked beak is perched. Its claws grip her clothing, and its feathers deepen into darker greens towards the tail.
Behind her, pointed leaves in cream, pink and green overlap like scales against a warm ochre ground crossed by thin bare twigs. A small painted inscription with the year sits top right, and a dark red garment shows at the bottom.
What was happening in her life around 1942?
According to the English Wikipedia, Kahlo spent the 1940s mainly at the Blue House in Coyoacán. Her father’s death in April 1941 plunged her into depression, her health was failing, and her world narrowed more and more to the house and its garden.
She was kept company by friends, servants and animals, among them spider monkeys, Xoloitzcuintli dogs and parrots. In this self-portrait two of those very kinds of animal sit beside her face.
In 1942 she became a founding member of the Seminario de Cultura Mexicana, set up to spread knowledge of Mexican culture, and took part in two exhibitions in New York, one at MoMA; whether this painting was shown there, our sources do not say.
Why does this self-portrait have so many admirers?
Wikipedia describes how, in most of her self-portraits, Kahlo painted her face like a mask and surrounded it with visual cues from which the viewer reads a deeper meaning. Here those cues are two animals framing the face from left and right.
Among the Aztec signs that recur in her work, the article names monkeys explicitly, but it offers no reading of this particular piece, so we leave the interpretation to you.
The colour draws people in as well: the ochre ground, the pinkish leaves and the yellow-green bird feel sunlit, and the red garment and flushed cheeks strengthen that impression. You can read more about the painter in the Frida Kahlo article on the English Wikipedia; it is about her, and there is no separate article on this work.
Where is the original kept?
Today the original belongs to the collection of the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, usually known simply as MALBA.
Kahlo painted it in oil on masonite, a smooth board of pressed wood fibres. We take the year, technique, size and museum from the list of her paintings on the English Wikipedia; how the work came to Argentina, that list does not say.
The original of Portrait of Lucha María, a Girl from Tehuacán, which Kahlo also painted on masonite in 1942, has exactly the same dimensions.
Our hand-painted copy, by contrast, is made on canvas, so we can stretch it on a stretcher bar or frame it like any other canvas.
Self-Portrait with Monkey and Parrot or another Kahlo?
An earlier version, with a tiny spider monkey and a bone-like necklace, is here as Self-Portrait with Monkey (1938).
If birds appeal to you more, look at Me and My Parrots, whose title already places the artist among several parrots, or at Self-Portrait with Bonito, where a green parrot sits on her shoulder.
Our whole range of famous Frida Kahlo paintings, from self-portraits to still lifes, is on the Frida Kahlo page.
How does our painter render fur, feathers and leaves?
Masonite is smooth, so our painter first gives the canvas several thin coats of primer, keeping the weave from breaking up the soft shading on the cheeks.
The ochre-yellow ground goes down first, the thin twigs are drawn into it, and then the leaves are built up one at a time, each with a lighter edge and a darker centre so they stand apart within the fan.
The face grows in thin layers, from the warm base tone of the skin to the flush and the red lips. The braids get alternating dark and yellow-green strokes so that the cord in the hair reads clearly.
The monkey is painted with short, dense strokes of black and dark grey, while the parrot’s plumage is drawn with a fine brush from the yellow head to the green tail. The result is a Frida Kahlo reproduction with genuine layers of oil paint that you can see and feel on the surface.
Which size suits your room?
In short: we paint this work in a single size, 40 x 49 cm, which looks its best in a bedroom, a study corner or on a narrow wall.
The size is given as width x height. The original is 43.2 cm wide and 54.6 cm high, so roughly 43 x 55 cm, or 55 x 43 cm written as height x width. Our painting is smaller than the original: 3.2 cm narrower and 5.6 cm shorter.
The proportions are similar, except that our format is a shade wider relative to its height. As a painting for the living room it works within a small group of pictures, beside a bookcase or above a side table, where it is seen from close by.
The source image we paint from is small, so this is the only size on offer.
Can I choose another size or a frame?
If you need a different width or height, send it to us through the painting in your size page; we check whether it is feasible and tell you the price and the timing.
We can send Self-Portrait with Monkey and Parrot rolled, stretched on a wooden stretcher bar or ready framed. Stretching and framing are done by our workshop in Slovenia, which looks after every canvas painting we produce.
You choose the frame in our 3D app, which is meant for frame selection only. Seeing the painting on a photo of your own wall is a distinct, separate service.
Natural wood or a slim gold moulding suits the ochre ground; a dark frame brings out the monkey’s fur.
How long does it take, and how is it delivered?
Once you confirm the order, the painter completes the self-portrait within 15 to 45 working days. Before packing, we send you a photograph of the finished painting, and any change you ask for is made before dispatch.
Delivery within Slovenia and to the rest of the EU involves no customs procedures, and our returns policy applies to the order.
As a present, this oil painting reproduction suits anyone who loves animals, Mexican art and warm colours. If you are unsure whether the monkey and parrot will please the person you have in mind, give a wall art voucher instead and let them pick.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original today?
At MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires) in Argentina.
Which two animals appear in it?
A black monkey against the artist’s right shoulder and a green, yellow-headed parrot on her left.
Will I get a printed copy?
No. You receive a painting the painter applies to canvas with a brush, stroke by stroke, in oil colours.
How big is the original?
It is 54.6 cm high and 43.2 cm wide, so somewhat larger than our painting.
Can I order a larger or smaller size?
You can ask; we check every requested size individually and reply with a price.
How long will I wait for the painting?
The self-portrait is painted in 15 to 45 working days, and no customs duty applies within the EU.
Is this 1942 self-portrait a good bedroom piece or present?
Yes, the 40 x 49 cm size looks good above a bedside table, and the warm tones liven up the room.
What do the monkey and parrot mean?
Wikipedia lists monkeys among the Aztec signs in her work, but gives no precise reading of this painting.
- Subject: Frida Kahlo from the shoulders up, with a black monkey at her right shoulder, a green parrot on her left and pale leaves before an ochre ground.
- Original: 1942, oil on masonite, 54.6 x 43.2 cm, MALBA, Buenos Aires.
- Ours: hand-painted in oil on canvas, made to order, in one size: 40 x 49 cm.
- Worth knowing: Our size is smaller than the original, by 3.2 cm in width and 5.6 cm in height.
