Diego on my Mind (1943) is a double-portrait emblematic of Kahlo’s gravitation toward personal motifs and self-portraiture. The central subject of the work is Kahlo herself, dressed in a traditional headdress from Tehuantepec, in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. This choice of garment, whose colorful patterned folds are accented by an intricate floral crown, reflects Kahlo’s embrace of Mexicanidad – her pride for her Mexican cultural and visual heritage. On Kahlo’s forehead a second portrait of her tumultuous and volatile lover, Diego Rivera, literalizes the titular expression “Diego on my Mind.” Painted after the couple’s rekindling of their marriage following a divorce within the same year in 1940, this work is a compelling statement of love and perhaps infatuation.

SKU: 66183
Creator: Frida Kahlo
Date: 1943
Original Medium: oil on Masonite
Original Size: 29 7/8 x 24 in.
Location: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art, The Vergel Foundation, Conaculta/INBA
© 2017 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York