Frida Kahlo Portrait by Mexican Photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo(b. 1902 Mexico City, Mexico, d. 2002)

Self Portrait in a
Velvet Dress

1926

“Autorretrato con traje de terciopelo”

This is Frida’s first self-portrait. It was painted as a gift for her student boyfriend, Alejandro Gomez Arias, who had left her. It was given as a token of love by which she hoped to restore his affection and keep her in his thoughts. Her plea for his love worked and not long after Alejandro received the portrait, they were rejoined.

The aristocratic pose reflects Frida’s interest in the paintings of the Italian Renaissance period. This self-portrait is Frida’s interpretation of Botticelli’s “Venus” which Alejandro admired. The same style would later appear in her “Portrait of Alicia Galant”, 1927, and “Portrait of Adriana”, 1927…(http://www.fridakahlofans.com/c0020.html)