Frida Kahlo
(1907 - 1954)
 

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, she employed a naïve folk art style to explore questions of identity, postcolonialism, gender, class, and race in Mexican society. Her paintings often had strong autobiographical elements and mixed realism with fantasy. In addition to belonging to the post-revolutionary Mexicayotl movement, which sought to define a Mexican identity, Kahlo has been described as a surrealist or magical realist. She is also known for painting about her experience of chronic pain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo

Self-portrait in a velvet dress
1926
Oil on canvas
78 × 61 cm
Private collection, Mexico City
https://www.fridakahlo.org/self-portrait-in-a-velvet-dress.jsp

The picture is considered if not Kahlo's first self-portrait then at least her first significant self-portrait. It is her oldest surviving self-portrait and has been described as her, "earliest important work" and, "her first serious work". It has also been described as, "her first real painting."

Portrait of my Father Wilhelm Kahlo
Posted on July 10th