A new exhibition at London’s Tate Modern is shedding fresh light on the symbolic world of renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, exploring how animals in her paintings reflected her pain, resilience and personal identity.
The exhibition, titled “Frida: The Making of an Icon”, places special focus on Kahlo’s 1940 masterpiece, Untitled Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. The painting, one of her most celebrated works, features a striking collection of animals and symbolic elements that reveal the artist’s emotional struggles and inner strength.
Kahlo, who died in 1954 at the age of 47, remains one of the most influential figures in modern art. Her self-portraits transformed the genre by turning personal experiences, physical suffering and emotional trauma into deeply expressive works of art. Of the 55 self-portraits she created during her lifetime, many prominently featured animals that held personal and cultural significance.
The 1940 painting was created during a turbulent period in Kahlo’s life. She had recently divorced fellow Mexican artist Diego Rivera, although the pair would remarry later that year, and her long-term relationship with American photographer Nickolas Muray was also coming to an end.
In the artwork, a dead hummingbird hangs from a thorn necklace around Kahlo’s neck. According to exhibition curator Tobias Ostrander, the bird carries multiple meanings. In Mexican folklore, wearing a hummingbird is believed to help bring back a lost love, while in Aztec culture the creature is linked to the god of war and freedom.
A spider monkey, one of Kahlo’s beloved pets and a gift from Rivera, appears to be pulling at the thorn necklace, causing blood to trickle down her neck. In pre-Hispanic traditions, spider monkeys symbolised creativity, playfulness and fertility. A black cat stands behind her shoulder, often interpreted as a symbol of danger, protection or hidden power.
The painting also features butterflies and dragonfly-like flowers woven into Kahlo’s braided hair. In Indigenous Mexican beliefs, both creatures are associated with rebirth and the renewal of the soul, adding another layer of meaning to the composition.
Kahlo’s connection with animals extended far beyond her paintings. She spent much of her life surrounded by pets, including monkeys, parrots, dogs and birds. Animals provided comfort during long periods of illness and recovery following childhood polio and a devastating bus accident at age 18 that left her with lifelong health problems and chronic pain.
Throughout her career, Kahlo frequently portrayed herself alongside her animals, using them as symbols of companionship, emotional support and aspects of her own identity. In works such as Self-Portrait with Monkey and Me and My Parrot, animals become almost equal partners in her artistic storytelling.
Scholars have often debated whether these animals represented the children Kahlo was unable to have. However, modern interpretations suggest they were also symbols of affection, freedom and personal empowerment, reflecting the artist’s complex emotional world.
Despite enduring significant physical suffering, Kahlo’s work consistently celebrates survival and creativity. One of her most famous diary entries, written after the amputation of her right leg in 1953, reads: “Feet, what do I need them for if I have wings to fly?”
More than seven decades after her death, Kahlo’s art continues to resonate worldwide, and the new exhibition offers visitors a deeper understanding of how the animals that surrounded her became powerful symbols of her trauma, strength and enduring desire to live and create. “Frida: The Making of an Icon” will run at Tate Modern in London until 3 January 2027.
