"Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird" by Frida Kahlo — History, Analysis & Where to See It

Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird: Pain Made Visible

Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird is one of Frida Kahlo’s most emotionally charged and symbolically dense paintings. Created in 1940 in the aftermath of her divorce from Diego Rivera, the work shows the artist gazing directly at the viewer, a necklace of thorns piercing her neck and drawing blood, while a dead hummingbird hangs from the thorns like a dark pendant.

Surrounded by a lush jungle of leaves, a black cat, a monkey, and butterflies, the painting transforms personal suffering into a universal statement about resilience. It is one of the finest examples of Kahlo’s ability to merge autobiography, Mexican folk traditions, and Surrealist imagery into a singular artistic vision.

The Story Behind the Self-Portrait

Kahlo painted this self-portrait in 1940, one of the most turbulent years of her life. She and Diego Rivera had divorced in November 1939, and though they would remarry by the end of 1940, the intervening months were marked by deep emotional pain, heavy drinking, and a frenetic output of paintings. This period produced some of her most powerful works.

The painting was purchased by Nickolas Muray, a Hungarian-American photographer and one of Kahlo’s closest friends and former lovers. Muray kept the painting in his personal collection for decades, and it eventually passed to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, where it remains one of the most visited works in the collection.

Kahlo’s self-portraits — she painted over 50 of them — were not exercises in vanity but acts of self-examination. “I paint myself because I am so often alone,” she said, “and because I am the subject I know best.” This particular work condenses her physical suffering (from a devastating 1925 bus accident that left her in chronic pain), her emotional anguish, and her deep connection to Mexican symbolism into a single, unforgettable image.

The painting has become one of Kahlo’s most widely reproduced works and is frequently cited as a masterpiece of twentieth-century portraiture.

Artistic Analysis: Technique & Style

The Thorn Necklace

The necklace of thorns around Kahlo’s neck evokes both the Crown of Thorns worn by Christ and the thorny plants of the Mexican landscape. The thorns dig into her skin, drawing drops of blood. This motif positions Kahlo as a martyr to love and physical suffering, while drawing on the Catholic imagery that pervaded Mexican visual culture and the tradition of ex-voto devotional paintings.

The Dead Hummingbird

Hanging from the thorn necklace is a lifeless black hummingbird with outstretched wings. In Mexican folk belief, dried hummingbirds were used as amuletos (good-luck charms) to attract love. The dead bird suggests that Kahlo’s luck in love has expired. Its cruciform pose reinforces the painting’s Christian symbolism and transforms a tiny creature into a potent emblem of lost hope.

The Black Cat and Monkey

A black cat crouches on Kahlo’s left shoulder, a traditional symbol of bad luck and death. On her right shoulder sits a spider monkey — one of Kahlo’s actual pets. In Mexican symbolism, monkeys can represent lust, but here the monkey appears tender and protective, tugging at the thorn necklace as if trying to free her. The contrast between the menacing cat and the sympathetic monkey creates a tension between despair and comfort.

Jungle Background and Butterflies

The dense wall of green leaves behind Kahlo recalls the tropical vegetation of her garden at the Casa Azul in Coyoacán. Butterflies hover above her head, traditionally associated with resurrection and the souls of the dead in Mexican culture. Their presence introduces a note of hope and transformation into an otherwise somber composition.

Where to See This Painting

This painting is on permanent display at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. It is exhibited in the center’s first-floor galleries, which are free and open to the public.

The Harry Ransom Center is open Tuesday through Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday). Admission is free. The painting is displayed alongside the center’s other visual art holdings, including a Gutenberg Bible and one of the earliest known photographs.

If you use ArtScan at the Harry Ransom Center, you can identify this self-portrait and every other artwork you encounter — getting instant artist information, historical context, and details about the techniques used, all in your preferred language.

Fun Facts About This Self-Portrait

• The buyer was her ex-lover. Nickolas Muray, the Hungarian-American photographer who purchased the painting, had a romantic relationship with Kahlo in the late 1930s. He kept the work in his private collection for years.
• Hummingbird love charms are real. In Mexican folk tradition, dried hummingbirds (chuparrosas) were carried as amulets to attract romantic love. Kahlo’s dead hummingbird is a direct reference to this practice.
• The monkey was a real pet. Kahlo kept several spider monkeys at her home, the Casa Azul in Coyoacán. They appear in multiple self-portraits as companions and symbolic stand-ins.
• It hangs in a humanities archive, not an art museum. The Harry Ransom Center is primarily known for its literary manuscripts and rare books. The Kahlo painting is one of relatively few visual artworks in its collection, making it an unexpected treasure.
• Kahlo painted over 50 self-portraits. About one-third of her entire output consists of self-portraits, making her one of the most prolific self-portraitists in art history.
• She and Rivera remarried the same year. Despite the anguish expressed in this painting, Kahlo and Rivera reconciled and remarried in December 1940 in San Francisco.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird?

The painting is on permanent display at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Admission is free.

What does the thorn necklace symbolize?

The thorn necklace represents Kahlo’s suffering — both physical (from her lifelong injuries) and emotional (from her divorce). It also references the Crown of Thorns in Christian iconography, casting Kahlo as a secular martyr.

What does the dead hummingbird mean?

In Mexican folk tradition, dried hummingbirds were used as love charms. The dead bird hanging from Kahlo’s necklace symbolizes the death of her romantic hopes following her divorce from Diego Rivera.

Is this painting Surrealist?

It is often classified within Surrealism due to its dream-like symbolism, but Kahlo rejected the label. She said she painted her own reality, not fantasies or dreams.

When was this self-portrait painted?

Kahlo completed the painting in 1940, during the period between her divorce from Diego Rivera (November 1939) and their remarriage (December 1940).

Why did Kahlo paint so many self-portraits?

Kahlo explained: “I paint myself because I am so often alone, and because I am the subject I know best.” Confined to bed for long periods due to her injuries, she used a mirror mounted above her bed to paint herself.