Description
The Wounded Deer is a small painting by Frida Kahlo from 1946 in which she shows herself as a young deer with her own face and a stag’s antlers. Nine arrows pierce the leaping animal, blood runs from the wounds, and around it stand bare, broken trunks, through which the sea and a bolt of lightning from a white cloud can be seen. The original, oil on masonite, is only 22.4 cm high and 30 cm wide and is held in a private collection. Our painter paints it by hand in oil colours on canvas, in one of 8 landscape sizes from 50 x 39 to 180 x 130 cm or made to measure, each of them larger than the original; before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | The Wounded Deer |
| Other titles: | El venado herido · The Little Deer |
| Painter: | Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) |
| Year painted: | 1946 |
| Original size: | 22.4 cm x 30 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on masonite |
| Painting style: | Mexican modernism |
| Located at: | Private collection |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
The Wounded Deer – Frida Kahlo
What does The Wounded Deer show?
A young deer runs through a forest. Its body is an animal’s, slim and grey-brown, its legs stretched in a leap, but the head is human: the face of Frida Kahlo, with dark eyebrows that meet in the middle.
Branching antlers grow from her head, and a pair of deer’s ears rise behind her own. She looks straight at us, calm and showing almost no sign of pain, although nine white-feathered arrows are lodged in the neck and back.
Around the deer stand trunks whose crowns we never see, and at the front right one tree has snapped. On the ground in the foreground lies a broken-off branch with yellow-green leaves.
Between the trees on the right the view opens onto a blue sea. The sky is bright, yet a bolt of lightning strikes down from a white cloud. In the lower left corner of the original the word “carma”, karma, is written.
What does the wounded animal mean?
At eighteen Frida Kahlo survived a bus accident that injured her spine, ribs, pelvis and right leg; she lived with the consequences for the rest of her life. She painted The Wounded Deer after an operation on her spine, when her health was already declining.
The pain the painting shows is emotional as well as physical, tied to her relationship with Diego Rivera, whom she had married for the second time in 1940.
Pre-Columbian, Buddhist and Christian symbols meet in this one small scene. In old Mexican belief the deer stands for the right foot, and by the Aztec calendar the painter was born on day nine; the number returns in the nine arrows and in the nine trees before the clearing.
The arrows recall Saint Sebastian, the martyr who was tied to a tree and shot with arrows. By Mexican custom a broken branch is laid on a grave, which is why the one on the ground is read as a sign of her failing health.
The raised right foreleg may reflect the difficulty she had walking at that time.
Why is The Wounded Deer so well known?
Among famous Frida Kahlo paintings it is one of the easiest to remember, because the idea is simple and strong: an animal struck by arrows that still does not fall, and a face that shows strength rather than anguish.
Kahlo worked small, far smaller than the huge murals of her Mexican contemporaries Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco.
There is more on the symbols and their readings in the Wikipedia article (in English).
Where is the original of The Wounded Deer?
The original is in a private collection today. Kahlo gave it to her close friends Arcady and Lina Boytler as a wedding gift.
It is painted in oil on masonite and measures 22.4 cm high by 30 cm wide. Our version, by contrast, is painted in oil colours on canvas and is larger than the original in every size.
The work is also known as The Little Deer, and its Spanish title is El venado herido.
The Wounded Deer or another Kahlo?
The Wounded Deer is a canvas painting for people who want the story behind a scene: it suits a study, a home library or a reading corner, where it can be looked at closely.
If her face draws you, look too at Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. Two figures of the same woman, joined by a shared vein, fill The Two Fridas, while Diego and I is more intimate still.
The painter standing ceremoniously between two curtains appears in Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky.
Every Frida Kahlo reproduction we paint is gathered on the Frida Kahlo page.
How does our painter paint your Wounded Deer?
First the drawing goes onto the canvas: the upright trunks, the diagonal of the leaping body and the curve of the antlers. Then thin layers lay down the dark ground, the brown trunks and the pale sky, so that the background takes on an even, smooth surface with no rough build-up.
Next comes the deer’s body, with soft transitions from grey to white on the belly and legs. The painter shapes the face slowly with fine brushes, so the gaze stays as calm as in the original. The details come last: the feathers on the arrows, the drops of blood, the leaves on the broken branch and the thin line of the lightning.
Because the original is small, we do not enlarge it mechanically; every detail is painted again with a brush on the larger canvas. The result is an oil painting reproduction in which the strokes show up close and merge from a distance into the smooth surface typical of her work.
A print cannot give you that: on canvas the paint has a body and a sheen of its own.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 50 x 39 or 60 x 43 cm for a shelf or a narrow wall, 74 x 55 or 87 x 62 cm above a desk or a chest of drawers, 110 x 80 or 125 x 90 cm above a sofa, and 160 x 115 or 180 x 130 cm for a large empty wall.
There are 8 landscape sizes (width x height): 50 x 39, 60 x 43, 74 x 55, 87 x 62, 110 x 80, 125 x 90, 160 x 115 and 180 x 130 cm. All of them are larger than the original, which measures 30 x 22.4 cm; the smallest, 50 x 39 cm, is 20 cm wider and 16.6 cm taller.
Over a sofa, 110 x 80 cm makes a good painting for the living room; leave about 25 cm between the backrest and the lower edge.
Can I order another size or a frame?
Yes. The original is roughly 4 : 3 in proportion, so we can paint it in a size that is not on the list. Send us the width and height you have in mind, and we will reply with a price and a delivery time.
The deer can travel to you rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Our workshop in Slovenia stretches and frames the deer before it sets off. You choose the frame in our 3D application, which is for choosing frames only; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will The Wounded Deer arrive?
We start painting as soon as you confirm the order, and the painting is ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days. Before it leaves, you receive a photograph of the finished painting and can tell us about any changes, which we then make.
No customs apply on the way to Slovenia or anywhere else in the EU, and every order is covered by our returns policy.
The Wounded Deer is a thoughtful gift for someone who knows and admires Frida Kahlo’s life or loves Mexican art. If you would rather they picked the size, give them a wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original now?
In a private collection. The painter gave it to her friends Arcady and Lina Boytler for their wedding.
What is in the painting?
A deer with Frida Kahlo’s face and antlers, struck by nine arrows in a forest.
Is it a print?
No, it is a hand-painted copy, made by our painter in oil colours on canvas.
How big is the original?
It is 22.4 cm high and 30 cm wide, so every size we offer is larger.
Do you paint it in other sizes?
Yes, give us the width and height and we tell you the price and timing in advance.
How long will I wait?
Making it takes 15 to 45 working days, and inside the EU there are no customs duties.
Is it right for a bedroom?
It suits a study or a living area better, as it shows wounds and blood; for a bedroom choose a calmer subject.
What do the arrows mean?
The pain the painter carried all her life; they also recall the martyr Saint Sebastian.
- Subject: a deer with Frida Kahlo’s face and antlers, struck by nine arrows in a bare forest by the sea.
- Original: 1946, oil on masonite, 22.4 x 30 cm, private collection.
- Ours: oil on canvas, painted by hand to order, in 8 landscape sizes from 50 x 39 to 180 x 130 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: the original is small, so every size we offer is larger than it.
