Description
Sun and Life is a painting Frida Kahlo made in 1947: a red sun with a human face and a third eye on its forehead glows at the centre, surrounded by large plants opening in yellow, ochre and green. The original, oil on masonite, is 40 cm high and 50 cm wide and belongs to a private collection in Mexico City. Our painter recreates it by hand in oils on canvas, in any of 8 landscape sizes between 50 x 39 and 140 x 111 cm or made to measure, and you receive a photograph of the finished painting before it ships.
| Title: | Sun and Life |
| Other titles: | El sol y la vida · Sonne und Leben |
| Painter: | Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) |
| Year painted: | 1947 |
| Original size: | 40 cm x 50 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on masonite |
| Painting style: | Mexican modernism |
| Located at: | Private collection, Mexico City |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Sun and Life – Frida Kahlo
What does Sun and Life show?
Plants fill almost the whole surface. Their thick, fleshy leaves are pale yellow and ochre and curl like husks or pods that are just splitting open. Inside some of them a dark red hollow opens up, with thin threads hanging from it, each ending in a drop.
Right of centre sits the sun: a red disc with a face, half-closed eyes, a broad nose and full lips. Above them, on the forehead, a third eye is open, and a tear runs from it. Rings of green, orange and yellow surround the disc, laid on with quick strokes so that the sun seems to give off light.
Broad leaves cover the lower part, with pale veins branching across them like roots. The plants reach all four edges, leaving only a few patches of blue between the leaves.
What do the sun and the plants mean?
The Spanish title, El sol y la vida, sets the sun beside life itself. The sun at the centre gives the plants their light, and the plants around it look as if they were opening and growing at that very moment.
According to the art historian Emma Dexter, Kahlo drew her mix of fantasy and reality mainly from Aztec mythology and Mexican culture.
What exactly the third eye and the tear stand for is not explained in the sources we rely on, so we will not press a reading on you.
It was painted in years when her health was visibly declining. The bus accident she survived at 18 left her in pain for the rest of her life, and in June 1945 she underwent an operation on her spine in New York, which failed.
Why does this painting catch the eye?
Most people picture self-portraits when they think of famous Frida Kahlo paintings; here, though, the only face belongs to the sun.
Tate Modern today counts her among the most significant artists of the twentieth century. For more on her life and work, read the Wikipedia article about Frida Kahlo (in English), which has no separate entry on this painting.
Where is the original today?
The original belongs to a private collection in Mexico City, so it is not on permanent display in any museum. It is painted in oil on masonite, a hard board of pressed wood fibres, and measures 40 cm high by 50 cm wide.
Year, technique, size and owner come from the list of her works on English Wikipedia, which is silent on earlier owners.
Ours is not painted on board but in oil colours on canvas, which can be rolled, stretched or framed. With the original in private hands, a hand-painted copy is the realistic way for most people to have this scene at home.
Sun and Life or another work by Kahlo?
This is a canvas painting for anyone who loves plants, warm light and colours that warm up a room. The landscape format sits well above a chest of drawers, a bed or a dining table, and its yellows and greens go with wood, potted plants and linen.
Plants take centre stage in Roots of 1943 as well, where the artist lies on cracked volcanic ground while green vines grow from her chest. A year before this work she painted The Wounded Deer, a deer with her own face, struck by arrows.
If the sun among plants appeals to you, look also at Living Nature of 1952, with fruit, a white dove and a sun-like disc, and at Viva la Vida (Watermelons) of 1954, with whole and cut watermelons.
Every work we paint to order from her originals is gathered on our Frida Kahlo page.
How does our painter paint the sun and the leaves?
The painter first transfers the composition to the canvas: the disc of the sun right of centre, the large curled leaves around it and the network of veins below. As the original is smooth, he works in thin layers so the leaves keep their soft transitions.
He builds the plants up layer by layer, from darker brown shadows to pale yellow edges, until the leaves gain shape and weight. Into the dark red hollows he then adds, with a fine brush, the threads with their drops and the small drops running downward.
The sun calls for a different hand: the rings around the face are made of quicker, visible strokes that run outward, while the face itself is modelled calmly, with soft shadow around the nose and mouth. The third eye and the tear come last, because they must be sharp and clear.
The result is a Frida Kahlo reproduction with real layers of paint, which reacts to light differently from a print. Because each order is painted separately, every oil painting reproduction we deliver is one of a kind.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 50 x 39 or 56 x 44 cm for a small wall or above a shelf, 70 x 56 or 80 x 62 cm above a chest of drawers or a desk, 90 x 70 or 100 x 79 cm above a bed or a sofa, and 125 x 99 or 140 x 111 cm for a large empty wall.
We paint it in 8 landscape sizes (width x height): 50 x 39, 56 x 44, 70 x 56, 80 x 62, 90 x 70, 100 x 79, 125 x 99 and 140 x 111 cm. Closest to the original is 50 x 39 cm, the same width but 1 cm lower; the next, 56 x 44 cm, is 6 cm wider and 4 cm taller.
As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 100 x 79 and 125 x 99 cm work well, since the red sun is then visible from the doorway.
Can I have my own size and a frame?
The original is 4 : 5 in proportion, so we can easily paint it in a size that is not on the list without crowding the sun against the edge. Write to us with the width and height you want, and we will reply with a price and a delivery time.
The painting travels rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or ready framed, and our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing. You pick the frame in our 3D app, which is made for that alone; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When does it arrive, and how is it sent?
Work on your painting begins the moment you confirm the order, and within 15 to 45 working days it is finished and ready to ship. We send you a photograph of the completed painting before dispatch, and if you want something changed, the painter changes it.
Parcels within Slovenia and the rest of the European Union pass no customs, and every order is covered by our returns policy.
Sun and Life is a warm gift for a gardener, a plant lover or anyone drawn to Mexican art. To leave the choice of size to the person you are giving it to, a wall art voucher does the job.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original now?
In a private collection in Mexico City, so it is not on permanent view in a museum.
What does the sun in the painting show?
A red face with a third eye on the forehead, from which a tear runs, ringed by green and orange bands.
Is it printed?
No. The painter applies it with a brush and oil colours on canvas, one layer after another.
How big is the original?
It is 40 cm high and 50 cm wide; our nearest size, 50 x 39 cm, is the same width and 1 cm lower.
Do you paint it in other sizes?
Yes, send us the width and height and you will know the price and time before you order.
How long do painting and delivery take?
The painter needs 15 to 45 working days; shipping inside the EU involves no customs.
Does it suit a bedroom or dining room?
Yes, the warm yellows fit both; above a bed we suggest 90 x 70 or 100 x 79 cm.
What does the title mean?
The Spanish title El sol y la vida means the sun and life; the sun among the plants is the heart of the scene.
- Subject: a red sun with a face and a third eye among large yellow and green plants.
- Original: 1947, oil on masonite, 40 x 50 cm, private collection, Mexico City.
- Ours: oil on canvas, hand-painted to your order, 8 landscape sizes from 50 x 39 to 140 x 111 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: her own face is absent here; the only face is the sun’s.
