Frida

A woman's head fills the lower half of the canvas, her face marked with fine red lines across the brow, cheeks and chin like ceremonial paint. A large red flower and strands of gold beads sit in her dark hair, and an ornate gold-patterned collar covers her shoulders. Bare black branches cross a pale sky above a deep blue wall, with a small gilded scribble floating between them.

The face is rendered with loose, expressive red strokes over pale skin, giving it an intense, masklike quality, while the jewelry and collar are picked out in fine gold linework against flat, saturated blue and near-black grounds. The contrast between the raw face and meticulous ornament produces a brooding intensity.