Autoportrait aux cheveux coupes Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

In Frida Kahlos 1940 painting Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair (Autoportrait aux cheveux coupes), Kahlo depicts herself seated on a bright yellow chair, dressed in a masculine suit and holding a pair of scissors. Her once long, dark hair, traditionally a symbol of femininity and beauty, has been drastically cut and lies in tangled strands scattered around her on the floor, some even clinging to the chair legs. The background is a stark, earthy red, with abstract swirling clouds in a muted sky above. Script across the top of the painting, resembling musical notation, contains the Spanish words: Mira que si te quise, fué por el pelo, / Ahora que estás pelona, ya no te quiero. This translates to: Look, if I loved you, it was because of your hair, / Now that youre bald, I dont love you anymore.

The subtexts of this painting are profound and multifaceted, reflecting Kahlos personal experiences with heartbreak, identity, and societal expectations. The most evident theme is the severance of a relationship. The lyrics, which she includes in her own handwriting, directly address a lover and express a loss of affection tied to her physical appearance, specifically her hair. This suggests a deep betrayal and pain, leading her to symbolically discard that which was admired by her former partner.

Furthermore, the act of cutting her hair, a traditionally feminine attribute, and her adoption of a masculine suit, can be interpreted as a rejection of conventional gender roles and a reclamation of her identity outside of a romanticized feminine ideal. This self-portrait signifies a moment of defiance and self-reliance in the face of emotional turmoil. The scattered hair represents what has been lost or cut away – love, beauty standards, and perhaps even parts of herself associated with her previous identity or relationship. The starkness of the background and the disarray of the hair amplify the feeling of desolation and the raw emotional state Kahlo was experiencing. The painting is a powerful visual testament to her pain, her strength, and her complex exploration of self.