Frida Kahlo created Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird in 1940 during a particularly difficult period in her life. By this time, Kahlo had already gained recognition as an important surrealist painter, known for her vibrant and intensely autobiographical works. However, in 1940 her health took a turn for the worse and she was confined to her home for several months due to a complex spinal surgery. It was during this period of convalescence that she painted Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.
Kahlo’s Failing Health
In 1940, at just 33 years old, Kahlo was experiencing severe medical problems. She had been plagued by poor health her entire life, beginning when she contracted polio as a child which left her right leg thinner and weaker than her left. Then, at age 18, she was in a horrific bus accident that shattered her pelvis, collarbone, ribs, and spine. She endured over 30 surgeries in her lifetime attempting to repair this damage. By 1940, the injuries, along with scoliosis of her spine, were causing her tremendous pain. That year she was forced to undergo an invasive spinal fusion surgery in New York City, which aimed to permanently fuse several vertebrae in her spine in order to stabilize it. The grueling surgery required that Kahlo lay flat on her back encased in a steel corset for months afterwards to allow her spine to heal.
Convalescence and Isolation
Kahlo had the surgery in New York City but then traveled back to her beloved home, the famed Blue House in Mexico City, to recover. Confined to her bed there for 7 months, Kahlo was isolated, in pain, and unable to move or sit up. This was a difficult period for the vibrant artist who was used to moving freely and actively engaging with the world around her. She could no longer do the things she loved – painting, interacting with the various artists and intellectuals who frequently congregated at her home, or enjoying the sights and markets of Mexico City. Understandably, Kahlo entered a depressive state during this period. She began to use her painting as an escape from her isolation and a way to channel her psychological and physical suffering.
Symbolism in the Painting
It was in this context that Kahlo created Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. The painting depicts Kahlo isolated in a barren landscape. She wears a necklace of thorns that digs into the skin of her neck, drawing droplets of blood. A black hummingbird is also shown hovering near her shoulder. The painting is rife with Kahlo’s signature symbolism that gives insight into her inner psychological state:
- The necklace of thorns is reminiscent of Christ’s crown of thorns, evoking themes of martyrdom and sacrifice. Kahlo connects herself to the suffering of Christ on the cross.
- Blood drips from Kahlo’s neck from where the thorns pierce her skin. This blood symbolizes the pain she endured from her spinal surgery and injury.
- Kahlo wears a modern dress but is isolated in an ancient, primordial landscape. This symbolizes how alone and removed from society she felt during her recovery.
- The black hummingbird is a symbol of freedom and joy in Mexican culture. Its presence near Kahlo shows her longing to recover and be active again. The hummingbird is close but still out of reach for her.
- Kahlo wears a Diego Rivera-style straw hat as a nod to her husband who was her greatest supporter. Even confined to bed, he was still with her in spirit.
- The landscape is bleak and barren. No signs of life are present. This highlights Kahlo’s isolation and feeling of being cut-off from the outside world.
Through these personal symbols, Kahlo conveys her physical and psychological suffering during this difficult period in her life. The painting acts as a cathartic release for the artist and an expression of her resilient spirit persevering even through isolation and pain.
Why Paint this Subject?
Why did Frida Kahlo choose to paint this unusual and specific scene during her convalescence? Firstly, painting portraits and still life works was one of the only artistic activities she could manage while confined to bed. But Kahlo specifically chose to portray herself in this isolated landscape wearing her thorn necklace as a way to process her trauma and situation. She often used painting as a therapeutic tool for working through adversity. The act of creating Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird served several purposes for the troubled artist:
- Psychological processing – By depicting herself with the thorn necklace, Kahlo could visualize and thereby process her physical pain. Translating the trauma into a visual representation helped her work through it psychologically.
- Cathartic release – Pouring her emotions onto the canvas provided a release valve for Kahlo’s pent up sadness, frustration, anger, and pain. The process was cathartic.
- Means of communication – Painting was Kahlo’s primary means of communicating. Isolated from friends during her recovery, she used the painting to symbolically communicate her suffering to the outside world.
- Defiance – The act of painting such a personal and unflinching scene was a defiant gesture by Kahlo against her immobility. She was determined to remain active as an artist however she could.
- Foreshadowing – Kahlo includes the hummingbird hovering near her shoulder as a hopeful symbol that she will recover and be active again soon. She paints the future she wants to see realized.
For these reasons, Kahlo channeled her tribulations in 1940 into this raw, introspective painting. It served as a visual processing of her trauma as well as a message to the world that her creative spirit endured despite adversity.
Interpretations
Art critics and historians have proposed several interpretations of Kahlo’s Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird over the years. Here are some prominent analyses of the work:
- Some view it as an explicitly Christian painting, with the thorns evoking Christ’s sacrifice and Kahlo embodying the Virgin Mary’s quiet strength.
- Others see it more generally as a painting of martyrdom. Kahlo sacrifices and suffers quietly but resiliently, as represented by the small hummingbird of hope beside her.
- Feminist interpretations also abound, with Kahlo embodying feminine strength in the face of pain and adversity in a male-dominated society.
- The tension between Kahlo’s modern outfit and the primordial landscape has led some critics to cite it as an example of surrealistic juxtaposition.
- Some have psychoanalyzed the painting as Kahlo working through traumatic early life experiences including her accident and dysfunctional marriage to Rivera.
But most prominent is the view that the painting is an expression of Kahlo’s resolve to endure and continue creating, even when isolated in pain. This strength of spirit is embodied in the small hummingbird who promises that Kahlo will fly again soon.
Kahlo’s Later Years
Unfortunately, after her spinal surgery in 1940, Kahlo continued to suffer both physically and psychologically for the rest of her relatively short life. She died in 1954 at age 47 due to a pulmonary embolism, though her death certificate reports the cause as a “pulmonary congestion” due to her damaged spine. However, in the years between her surgery and death, Kahlo experienced some of her greatest professional successes.
In the early 1940s she exhibited her work in New York City to critical acclaim. She was later featured in Vogue Magazine. Kahlo also returned to teaching art and actively participating in Mexican politics during this period. However, while she did physically recover somewhat from the 1940 surgery, she experienced complications and other health issues that caused her persistent pain. She underwent further surgeries to her spine and leg. Kahlo became dependent on pain medication, alcohol, and continuing medical interventions just to function.
Yet despite her physical limitations, Kahlo’s career flourished and she gained international fame as an artist in her final years. She created some of her most renowned paintings between 1940-1954, likely using art again as both a psychological refuge and a means to process physical suffering. Works from this period include The Broken Column, The Wounded Deer, and the haunting Self Portrait With Cropped Hair which Kahlo gave to her ex-husband Rivera upon their final separation. Kahlo was prolifically creative up until the end of her life.
Kahlo’s Artistic Legacy
While she struggled with poor health throughout her life, Frida Kahlo left an indelible artistic legacy behind. Some key points on her impact include:
- She is regarded as one of the great surrealist painters of the 20th century and a key figure in the Mexican Surrealist period.
- Kahlo brought elements of Mexican folk art into the Surrealist style, crafting a distinctive genre often termed Magic Realism.
- She is famed for deviating from Western classical notions of beauty and perfection in art, instead celebrating unconventional forms.
- Kahlo’s thoroughly autobiographical works were uniquely personal in content, unlike the detachment of male Surrealists.
- She directly addressed themes of female identity, trauma, suffering, and sexuality in raw, realistic portrayals.
- Kahlo has been heralded as a feminist icon and pioneer who challenged gender norms in her life and work.
While appreciation for Kahlo’s works lay dormant for decades after her death, interest revived in the 1970’s Second Wave feminist movement. Her paintings now sell for record sums at auction and can be found in major collections globally. The raw emotiveness of paintings like Thorn Necklace cement her importance as a daringly personal chronicler of the human experience.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Frida Kahlo painted her famous Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird while convalescing from spinal surgery in Mexico City in 1940. The imaginative and jarring self-portrait depicts Kahlo isolated in a barren landscape wearing a painful necklace of thorns. A hummingbird, representing freedom, hovers near her. Through symbolic imagery, Kahlo conveys the physical and psychological trauma she experienced during this period of prolonged isolation and stillness. Painting the scene allowed her to process and communicate her suffering, while also symbolizing her resilience and hope to recover through the hummingbird motif. The work exemplifies Kahlo’s unique brand of visual Surrealism blended with Mexican folk elements. Her deeply personal and emotive paintings broke ground in their honest expression of female identity, pain, sexuality, and trauma. Despite enduring a lifetime of surgeries and health problems, Kahlo persevered to create some 200 astonishing paintings up until her untimely death in 1954 at age 47. She left behind an artistic legacy as an avant-garde, culture-shaping painter of the 20th century.
