Description
Self-Portrait with Necklace is a small painting Frida Kahlo made in 1933: a close bust of the artist with her hair drawn back, in a white blouse edged with lace and a necklace of large dark beads around her throat. The original, oil on metal, measures just 34.5 cm high by 29.5 cm wide and belongs to the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oil colours on canvas, in one of 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 49 to 148 x 180 cm or made to measure; every one of our sizes is larger than the original, and before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | Self-Portrait with Necklace |
| Other titles: | Autorretrato con collar · Selbstporträt mit Halskette |
| Painter: | Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) |
| Year painted: | 1933 |
| Original size: | 34.5 cm x 29.5 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on metal |
| Painting style: | Mexican modernism |
| Located at: | Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Self-Portrait with Necklace – Frida Kahlo
What does Self-Portrait with Necklace show?
Kahlo shows herself at close range, from the shoulders up, her face turned slightly aside and her gaze meeting ours directly. The background is an even, cool grey with no landscape, objects or lettering, so all the attention stays on the face and the jewellery.
Her dark hair is combed smoothly back and gathered behind the ear into a braided knot at the nape. Her brows join above the nose in a single dark arc, her cheeks are flushed pink, her lips a bright red, and a faint shadow above the upper lip suggests fine down.
Around her neck hangs a string of large round beads that runs from the nape to the middle of her chest. Some are almost black, others brownish or grey-blue, and each carries its own bright highlight.
Below opens a white blouse with a round neckline, trimmed with a thin band of white lace that draws small loops across the bare skin.
When was it painted, and in what circumstances?
The painting dates from 1933, when Frida Kahlo was living with Diego Rivera in the United States. The year before, in Detroit, she had suffered health problems connected with a failed pregnancy; in March 1933 the couple moved to New York, where Rivera was painting a mural for the Rockefeller Center.
Kahlo was homesick, and in December 1933, soon after the mural was unveiled, they went back to Mexico.
According to Wikipedia, from 1932 she painted on small, intimate tin sheets, like those folk painters used for votive pictures (retablos). This self-portrait, too, is oil on metal, small and made to be looked at up close.
Why do so many people love this self-portrait?
Many of Kahlo’s self-portraits borrow the bust-length portrait of the colonial era but, as Wikipedia notes, turn it around: the face is not flattered, it is shown with everything that makes it recognisable. This painting is a clear example, hiding neither the joined brows nor the down above the lip.
Because she repeated the same features again and again, her face in the self-portraits became almost a mask, which Wikipedia links to the way goddesses and saints are shown in Indigenous and Catholic traditions. Here a single sign accompanies the mask, the necklace, and the painting gains an unusual calm from it.
For more on her life and work, read the Frida Kahlo article on the English Wikipedia; it is about the painter, and there is no separate article on this painting.
Where is the original kept?
The original is in the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. It is painted in oil on a metal plate, 34.5 cm high and 29.5 cm wide, a small format like that of many of her works.
Year, technique, size and collection come from the English Wikipedia list of Kahlo’s works; we add nothing the sources do not say.
Our hand-painted copy is made not on metal but on canvas: the painter works in oil colours on artist’s canvas.
Self-Portrait with Necklace or another Kahlo?
The colours here are calm and cool, so the grey ground, white blouse and dark beads sit easily with simple modern furniture and white walls. Because the face fills the scene, even the smaller sizes hold their own in a bedroom or beside a bookcase.
From the same year comes My Dress Hangs There, in which Kahlo replaces herself with an empty Tehuana dress in front of New York buildings. A similarly close look at the face is offered by Self-Portrait (1930), and an earlier, more European image of the artist by Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress.
If the necklace is what draws you, look too at Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, where thorns rather than beads circle the neck. Our full range of famous Frida Kahlo paintings, each one painted to order, is on the Frida Kahlo page.
How does our painter paint the face and the beads?
The original is painted on smooth metal and has no canvas texture: the colours are flat and clean, the transitions on the cheeks soft, the edges of hair and brows crisp.
The painter starts with the grey background and the outline of the head, then builds the warm skin, the flush of the cheeks and the red lips in thin layers. The hair becomes a dark, almost even surface in which a braided strand shows only here and there.
The beads take the most patience: each is shaped separately, with a dark core and a pale grey-blue highlight, so the necklace gains weight. The lace at the neckline comes last, drawn with a fine brush in small white loops. The result is a Frida Kahlo reproduction with real layers of oil paint, which no print has, and every order is painted on its own.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 40 x 49 or 46 x 55 cm for a small corner or beside a wardrobe, 54 x 65 or 72 x 85 cm above a bedside table or a desk, 90 x 107 or 102 x 122 cm above a bed or a sofa, and 120 x 140 or 148 x 180 cm for large walls.
There are 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 40 x 49, 46 x 55, 54 x 65, 72 x 85, 90 x 107, 102 x 122, 120 x 140 and 148 x 180 cm. The original is small, so every one of our sizes is larger; even the smallest, 40 x 49 cm, is 10.5 cm wider and 14.5 cm taller.
As a painting for the living room above the sofa, 90 x 107 or 102 x 122 cm works best: the face and necklace then hold the wall without crowding it.
Can I have it in a custom size, and framed?
The original’s proportions are roughly 6 : 7, so we can paint it in a size that is not on the list without cutting off the necklace or the top of the head. Tell us the width and height you have in mind and we will come back with a price and delivery time.
It ships rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed; our workshop in Slovenia stretches and frames every canvas painting we make. The 3D app is where you choose the frame, and that is all it does; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will it arrive, and how does it travel?
Once you confirm the order, the painter begins, and after 15 to 45 working days the painting is ready to go. Before we pack it, we send you a photograph of the finished painting; if you want something changed, the painter sees to it.
Parcels within Slovenia and to the rest of the EU pass through no customs, and our returns policy applies to every order.
Self-Portrait with Necklace is a good gift for anyone who loves Mexican art, portraits or a simple, quiet style. If you are not sure which size would suit the person receiving it, give a wall art voucher instead.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original now?
In the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, as the Wikipedia list of her works records.
What is Kahlo wearing in the painting?
A white blouse with lace at the neckline and a necklace of large dark beads.
Is it an oil painting reproduction or a print?
It is painted by hand with a brush and oil colours on canvas; no printing is involved.
How big is the original?
It is 34.5 cm high and 29.5 cm wide, so all of our sizes are larger.
Can I get it in my own size?
Yes, we paint it to the width and height you choose and tell you the price before you order.
How long does delivery take?
Our painter needs 15 to 45 working days; shipping inside the EU involves no customs.
Does it suit a bedroom, or work as a gift?
Yes, the calm greys and whites suit a bedroom, and the small sizes make a handy gift.
What does the necklace mean?
Our sources give it no specific reading; Kahlo often framed her face with signs the viewer has to decode.
- Subject: Frida Kahlo close up, hair drawn back, in a white lace-trimmed blouse with a necklace of large dark beads.
- Original: 1933, oil on metal, 34.5 x 29.5 cm, Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection.
- Ours: oil on canvas, hand-painted to your order, in 8 portrait sizes (40 x 49 to 148 x 180 cm) or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: The original is small: even our smallest size is larger.
