A very close reading of 'Self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird': talk by Lauren Ellis

Name: A very close reading of 'Self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird': talk by Lauren Ellis
Start: 2025-04-29T11:00:00+10:00
End: 2025-04-29T12:00:00+10:00
Location: 42 View Street, Bendigo, VIC, Australia, Victoria 3550

Schedule

Tue Apr 29 2025 at 11:00 am to 12:00 pm

UTC+10:00

Location

42 View Street, Bendigo, VIC, Australia, Victoria 3550 | Bendigo, VI

Self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird is one of Frida Kahlo’s most celebrated self-portraits, produced at the height of her artistic power in 1940. Rich in poetic allusions, the painting includes recurring motifs from Kahlo’s painting, such as thorned vines, dense foliage, and a pet monkey, along with more unusual elements. Painted during the yet of her divorce from Diego Rivera, and at the symbolically charged age of 33 years, this painting is often interpreted as an expression of the artist’s profound emotional and physical pain and martyrdom.
For the first time since the painting was made, in Bendigo it will be reunited objects from Kahlo’s home and studio, which are referenced in the painting: a delicate silver filigree butterfly brooch and a print by Hungarian photographer, and friend of the Riveras, Martin Munkácsi.
In this talk, each element of Self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird will be closely examined to reveal insights into Kahlo’s influences, the significance of her symbols, her artistic methods, and the extraordinary universe she created within her beloved home, La Casa Azul.
Never before displayed in Australia, Self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird is generously on loan to Bendigo Art Gallery from the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, USA.
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Frida Kahlo, 'Self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird', 1940. Nickolas Muray Collection of Mexican Art, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.
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