Most famous artists from the past have delved into the expression of self-portraits. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it was not until the Early Renaissance in the Mid-15th Century that artists can be frequently identified depicting themselves as either the main subject, or as important characters in their work.

Why DID so many famous artists paint self-portraits?

Practice Makes Perfect
In early times this was the best way to master portraiture experience before working with the client.

Calling Cards
Portraiture Artists used self-portraits as a calling card, validating their skills. Much like people today use business cards.

Status
Famous artists could paint themselves into a setting which gave status to where they lived.

Document Their Life
A creative and tedious form of today’s selfies! Artists also wanted to document their life and how they changed over the years. For instance van Gogh painted around 36 self-portraits in only ten years. Rembrandt produced the most self-portraits throughout his career.

Looking Deeper
Picasso had some interesting thoughts as to why he painted self-portraits. He once said “Are we to paint what’s on the face, what’s inside the face, or what’s behind it?”

To Make Millions of Dollars?
Famous artists that created million dollar self-portraits probably never dreamed that someday their portraits would sell for millions. If only they knew at the time!

The following 5 famous self-portraits have sold for millions.

“Self-portrait” by Andy Warhol Sold for $27.5 Million

Andy Warhol’s stark red-on-black Self-Portrait, sold for $27.5 Million in 2011. Created with acrylic and silkscreen on canvas, the painting measures almost 9 square feet. It was created toward the end of his life in 1986 and shows the artist, with hair spiked, looking directly at the viewer.

Picasso’s “Self-Portrait Yo Picasso” by Picasso Sold for $47.9 Million in 1989

Painted in June 1901, Yo Picasso is the first of that year’s three self-portraits and shows the 19-year old Picasso viewing himself with pride and confidence. Over the years Picasso’s style developed and his self portraits became more abstract.

“Portrait of an Artist Without His Beard” by Vincent by van Gogh

Painted in 1889, “Portrait of an Artist Without His Beard” sold for $71.5 million in 1998 in New York City. It was the second highest price for a van Gogh at auction and the third highest price for any artwork ever sold at auction.

What made van Gogh’s “Portrait of an Artist Without His Beard” so unique was that it was the only self-portrait he painted of himself without a beard, and it is said to be his last self-portrait. He painted the picture for his mother, Anna Cornelia Carbentus van Gogh, for her 70th birthday while he was in an asylum. He wanted to reassure her that we was doing fine. Ironically he committed suicide soon after.

“Self Portrait with Monkey” by Frida Kahlo Sold for $1 Million

Frida Kahlo, Mexico’s most famous woman artist is best known for her self-portraits that express the emotional effects of pain, loss and tragedy in her life. This self-portrait painted in 1940 was painted during Frida’s one year divorce from her husband Diego. The stance in the painting is direct and serious. Purchased by “Madonna” in the late 1980’s, she has collected several of Frida’s Paintings. Read more here on other famous Frida paintings.

Self-portrait with Hunting Horn by Max Beckmann

German artist Max Beckmann painted “Self-portrait with Hunting Horn” in 1938 while he was in exile in Amsterdam after the Nazis branded him a degenerate artist.

The painting fetched 22.5 million in 2001.

In “Self-Portrait with Hunting Horn”, Beckmann depicts himself alone in a confined, narrow space holding a Waldhorn (a German hunting horn) in his left hand and wearing a black-and red-striped housecoat. The eerie contrasts of the painting tell a much deeper story, the German horn which was used as a symbol of romanticism in German art and literature.

While there are many million dollar faces, these are a few that show the variety that past famous portrait artists have produced.

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Mexico’s most famous woman artist is best known for her self-portraits that express the emotional effects of pain, loss, and tragedy in her life.

The following is a collection of photos of Frida by a variety of photographers in her lifetime. These are especially interesting and seem to capture her spirit. From age 4 and beyond, we hope you are inspired by these unique black and white photos of Frida.

All the pictures shown on Art and Design Inspiration are the property of their respective owners. We don’t hold any copyright on these pictures. These pictures have been collected from different public sources including different websites, considering to be in public domain.

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Frida Kahlo, born July 6th 1907 is Mexico’s most famous woman artist. She is best known for her self-portraits that express the emotional effects of pain, loss and tragedy in her life. Upon viewing her work one can’t help to be engaged with the intensity of emotion and passion along with a lingering curiosity as to the meaning and representation of her surrealistic imagery.

From a traditional viewpoint, Frida’s work expresses the essence of her culture in the 1920’s. Many of her paintings include artifacts of Mexico and traditional Mexican costumes – long skirts and dresses. She rejected conventional Western standards of beauty such as groomed eye brows and groomed her unibrow and even mustache to make them darker.

Domestic elements of her work connect with ordinary life with her love for her pets which is evident in her self portraits with monkeys, birds, cats and more. Her bright colors express a celebratory feel of Mexican folk art and her direct unwavering stare insinuates brashness and boldness.

However, this boldness in her work scratches at the surface to reveal the deeper meaning of her work that reflect her tumultuous relationship with Rivera, as well as the anguish of her ever-deteriorating health. Frida’s art dramatizes the pain in her life while cultivating an image as a bold survivor.

Frida’s Most Compelling Paintings

Pain
The pain Frida expressed in her art continued past the physical pain in her life from disease and accident into emotional pain when she married Diego Rivera. As if her bodily injuries weren’t compelling enough, Frida’s drama – as well as her art – was enhanced by what she referred to as the second accident in her life: Diego Rivera, the famous Mexican muralist and notorious womanizer to whom she was married for 25 years and subsequently in his shadow for the better part of it. Her work didn’t attracted the attention and praise of Diego, which in the beginning of their relationship she longed for.

The Two Frida’s
Hailed as one of her most famous pieces, the intimate and personal painting is notable for it’s surrealism and symbolism. It is believed to be a painting depicting her deep hurt at losing Diego. One Frida sits on the left of the painting; this is the Frida that was rejected by Rivera, Her blouse is ripped open, exposing her broken and bleeding heart.

The Frida to the right, the one that Rivera still loves, has a heart that is still whole. She holds a small portrait of Rivera in her hand. The painting had a special significance for Frida, after her death, this small portrait of Rivera was found amongst Frida’s belongings, and is now on display at the Museo Frida Kahlo in Mexico.

My Birth – 1932
In 1932 Kahlo had a miscarriage, which prompted her to paint some of the most gruesome of the self-portraits that later sealed her reputation as one of the most original painters of her time. One of Frida most startling works, “My Birth,” painted in 1932 was in process when Kahlo found out that her mother was dying of cancer. The painting expresses a startling look at a partially covered woman’s body with Kahlo’s bloodied head bursting out of the vagina.

Currently the ‘My Birth’ painting is owned by Madonna whom is a avid collector of Frida’s art. It’s also thought that Madonna owns Kahlo’s 1943 work Roots purchased for $5.6 million at a Sotheby’s auction.

Me and My Doll – 1937
Many of Frida’s paintings express a fascination with procreation, and some directly reflect her despair at not having children due to her 1925 bus accident which left her unable to bear children. As substitutes for children she collected dolls and kept many pets on which she bestowed her affection.

One of the most moving paintings is a self-portrait of Frida sitting on a bed next to a lifeless looking child/doll. She is smoking a cigarette and looks bored, and is sitting some distance from the child on the bed–a reflection that is believed to be her real lack of maternal instincts.

Niña con Mascara de Muerte (Ella juega sola) – Girl with Death Mask (She Plays Alone)
In 1938 Frida painted this painting and it is thought to be a portrait of her when she was four years old. She is wearing a skull mask traditionally worn at the annual Mexican festival “Day of the Dead.” The girl is holding a yellow flower that looks like the tagete flower that Mexicans place on graves during the “Day of the Dead.” Frida gave this painting to the actress Dolores del Rio as a gift. Later it became a part of a private collection in Monterey, California. It’s now a part of the collection at the Museum of Art in Nagoya, Japan.

Frida’s Last Painting: Viva la Vida, 
Watermelons – 1954

Personal tragedy struck in 1953, when due to complications her right leg was amputated below the knee. Kahlo’s last painting, which she completed shortly before she died, was a still life with watermelons. The watermelon in Frida’s painting has much meaning and is a frequent subject in Mexican art. It is a popular symbol in the holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) which commonly depicts watermelons being eaten by the dead or shown in close conjunction with the dead.

Eight days before she died, she wrote her name, the date and the place of execution on the melon’s red pulp, along with the title “VIVA LA VIDA – Coyoacán 1954 Mexico”, in large capital letters: Long Life Life!

Kahlo died in 1954, at the age of 47. She spent her life in pain, and wrote in her diary a few days before her death that she hoped ‘the exit is joyful, and I hope never to return’.

Fridamania

For almost 30 years Kahlo largely disappeared from the mainstream art world, until the 1938 book was published “Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo.”

When it was published, there wasn’t a single monograph of Kahlo’s work to show people what it looked like, but the biography sparked a Frida frenzy that continues today.

 During the month of July we have a Frida Contest on Art & Design Inspiration

If you would like to participate in our Fridamania celebration, create something inspired by Frida.
See the details here!

“I paint my own reality, the only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint always whatever passes through my head, without any other consideration.”

– Frida Kahlo

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All aspiring artists are no doubt familiar with Frida Kahlo, a Mexican artist who while creating amazing and inspiring works of art, led a short life filled with pain and tragedy. Dying just one week after her 47th birthday, Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderon is widely know in the art world for her self-portraits. Even today, nearly 60 years after her death, Kahlo’s paintings fetch more money than any other female artist (as a side note, Madonna is an avid collector of Frida’s art and is thought that she owns Kahlo’s 1943 work Roots purchased for $5.6 million at a Sotheby’s auction.)

Surviving a serious traffic accident as a teen, Kahlo suffered health problems throughout her short life, which resulted in somewhat of an isolated life, one reason she did so many self-portraits – 55, to be exact. Married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist, the relationship was often described as volatile and passionate. While the marriage was considered a stormy, rocky relationship, it survived not only Kahlo’s poor health, but infidelities, an inability to have children, even her bi-sexual affairs and the pressures of a career only passionate artists can truly understand.

Frida’s art often spoke volumes of the pain and tragedy she suffered throughout her life, first after being struck by a bus at the age of 18 that left her body in shambles and caused her to endure more than 30 surgeries, and having survived polio. Frida’s talent was creating exquisite Mexican folk art, a passion that helped her express her experiences in life. In fact, it was said by one critic that Frida’s paintings were essentially her biography.

Frida was 22 years old when she married 42-year-old Diego Rivera, and although their turbulent, passionate marriage endured nearly every heartache imaginable, the two divorced and remarried at one point. Perhaps something she once said summed up her deepest feelings: “I suffered two grave accidents in my life . . . One in which a streetcar knocked me down and the other was Diego.” Sadly, Frida was crippled both physically and emotionally, although perhaps the tragedy in her life is what made her one of the greatest and most expressive artists of all time.

It seems that many truly inspiring artists have led lives that were fraught with pain, emotional trauma, and other experiences many of us never endure. Perhaps this is what makes the creative works of these artists so inspiring, unusual, expressive, loved by people all over the world? While Frida’s life was brief and what could only be described as tragic, her legacy lives on today.

The paintings below are a few of our favorite and expressive Frida portraits that capture the essence of her life experiences.

What the Water Gave Me was Frida’s memoir of her life, depicting life and death and comfort and loss. In the midst of her vision lies the way in which Frida found herself submerged by her life.

Roots is said to be an expression of Frida’s inability to have children. Giving birth to a vine, this self-portrait of Frida shows a vine flowing from her heart and away from her body rooting towards the ground. As you look closely you will see the parched earth cracking and the feeling that she is close to being swallowed up by the earth. The painting has a delicate balance between hopeful life and desperation.

The Broken Column is one of Frida’s most tormented self-portraits. During 1946–1950 Frida Kahlo underwent 8 operations to her spine. This painting is an expression of the operations and her pain.

In The Wounded Deer, Frida Kahlo paints herself as an animal and human hybrid. Kahlo is representing herself as part male and part female, as well as elements of human and animal features. Around the time she created The Wounded Deer, Frida Kahlo made a drawing of a young deer in her diary, which is thought to be inspired by her pet deer, Granizo.

See more of Frida – three of her most compelling paintings – click/tap here.

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She has just cut off her long hair that Diego loved. In her left hand she holds a lock of her clipped hair like an sign of her sacrifice. In her right hand, she holds the scissors with which she martyred her femininity. Strands of her hair are everywhere and they surround her in the empty space that she seems to shrinks into.

In contrast to her typical self-portraits, she would fill up the canvas with boldness, colorful expressions, elaborateness. Here she purposely minimizes herself in this portrait of gravity and sadness.

The verse of a song painted across the top of the portrait points to the reason behind this act of self-mutilation:

“See, if I loved you, it was for your hair, now you’re bald, I don’t love you any more.”

After the divorce, Frida gave up her Tehuana costumes so liked by Diego and wore instead a man’s suit. The only feminine attribute she retained was her earrings. This self-portrait seems to express her desire for the freedom and independence of a man and yet at the same time expresses the sadness and loss. The marriage lasted just five short years; the two separated in 1934 and divorced in 1938, although they would remarry just two years later.

Diego was married three times other than to Frida, although he did say, “If I ever loved a woman, the more I loved her, the more I wanted to hurt her.  Frida was only the most obvious victim of this disgusting trait.”  A doctor once diagnosed Diego as being “unfit” for monogamy, however upon her death in 1954 Diego wrote, “I realized that the most wonderful part of my life had been my love for Frida.”

In spite of all the pain Frida experience with Diego, in typical Frida style she is still controlled. The yellow chair, the only bright spot in the painting, seats the upright Frida in a partial man stance. Legs firmly planted, and body at a slight angle she is not facing the viewer but looks sideways.   Her face proportionally smaller than her body seems to state an uncertainty that minimizes her femininity, yet, she has accepted her new look and mourns for what was lost.

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This headline from an old newspaper article about Diego Rivera definitely got my attention. Frida, displayed as the dutiful wife in her apron does not look gleeful! Actually I’m sure when the reporter left the apron came off.

How times ‘slowly’ change for women artists. Tucked away under her husbands fame, Frida stated during the interview ” No, I didn’t study with Diego. I didn’t study with anyone. I just started to paint.”

And then with her undeniable charm, “Of course, she explains, “he does pretty well for a little boy, but it is I who am the big artist.”

Her sense of self confidence is to be admired. And here all these years later, it is Frida’s name that is best known.

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As the most famous woman painter in Mexico (and possibly the world) Fridia is an icon.

Her spirit, and style continues to inspire many artists and her work today is a rare collectable. Currently the ‘My Birth’ painting is owned by Madonna whom is a avid collector of Frida’s art. It’s also thought that Madonna owns Kahlo’s 1943 work Roots purchased for $5.6 million at a Sotheby’s auction.

For viewers and collectors of her art there is a deep connection. In her work you see the vulnerable and expressive woman that she was. She left the art world with a legacy of art that rivals all others. Using her own unique “folkloric” style of painting, Frida painted the diary of her life.

Frida Finds

• Take A Tour Of Frida Kahlo’s House And Wardrobe! A video walkthrough of Casa Azul in Mexico City
• Frida Facebook Fans If Frida was still alive, she would have a even larger fan base!
• Frida Kahlo – Viva la Vida
• Expressions of Frida
• Frida Look Alike Contests See all the Frida’s here!

Our ongoing Frida contest on Art & Design Inspiration

1. Frida by Helen Rowles – See Here
2. “Mis Amores Chiquitos” by Debi Winger
3. Frida en los manos de Diego
4. Frida by Lann Valentine
5. Frida by Genevieve Esson
6. Frida by Chris Rosepapa
7. Cate Padilla-Finney

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Rivera was considered by many to be the greatest Mexican painter of the twentieth century.  Credited with reintroducing fresco painting (mural paintings on fresh plaster), his works became popular among the people, often on display in universities and other public places.  Passionate about politics, art, and women, Rivera possessed radical political views, joining the Mexican Communist Party in 1922 and participating in the founding of the Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, painters, and Sculptors.  Rivera was a passionate, volatile man in many aspects of his life, including his relationship with and marriage to Frida Kahlo, perhaps the most loved of the many women in his life.

After marrying Frida (who was 15 years Rivera’s junior), the couple’s home in San Angel was actually two homes connected by a bridge.  The two passionate artists initially met in Mexico City in 1922 when Frida attended the National Preparatory School, and would not reconnect until six years later when they began dating.  During their two marriages, Diego and Frida endured a passionate, volatile, and tumultuous relationship, much of it due to Frida’s health issues and Diego’s lust for other women.

Diego had many affairs throughout the years, one of them with Frida’s sister Cristina in 1934; Diego wasn’t the only one with a wandering eye, however, as Frida had an affair in 1937 with Leon Trotsky.  Diego was married three times other than to Frida, although he did say, “If I ever loved a woman, the more I loved her, the more I wanted to hurt her.  Frida was only the most obvious victim of this disgusting trait.”  A doctor once diagnosed Diego as being “unfit” for monogamy, however upon her death in 1954 Diego wrote, “I realized that the most wonderful part of my life had been my love for Frida.”

While fidelity was always an issue in the marriages between Frida and Diego, there is no doubt that the two shared a passion not only for painting and art, but for each other.

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