Two Nudes in the Forest by Frida Kahlo
Considered the most expensive work that has been sold in the Frida Kahlo catalogue, “Two Nudes in the Forest (The Earth Itself)” was painted by the Mexican artist in 1939, and is characterized by the portrait of two nude women resting on a forest.
Just 12 inches wide by 10 inches long, this work features a dark-skinned woman and a light-skinned woman, which relates to Kahlo’s ethnic identity in relation to her indigenous roots and her European ancestry.
Nude woman in the forest painting Frida Kahlo
Likewise, this painting has been interpreted as an expressly open statement about the bisexuality of the Mexican artist. In fact, this was a gift from the painter to Dolores del Río, one of the first Latin American actresses to succeed in Hollywood.
In addition to its artistic and historical value, “Two Nudes in the Forest” managed to break a record, because Frida was the first Latin American artist to exceed a million dollars for one of her works.
During an auction of modern and impressionist art at Christie’s in New York, this work was sold on May 12, 2016 for $8.5 million dollars, the highest price ever for the work of the iconic Mexican artist.
Prior to this, her painting “Raíces” sold for $5.6 million during a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2006, while her painting “Diego y Yo” sold for $1.4 million in 1990.
Frida Kahlo nudes painting
It is worth mentioning that in the same auction of “Two Naked in the Forest”, other works of great value were sold, such as “Pond with Water Lilies” by Claude Monet, which sold for $27 million dollars, as well as “Young Woman with Rose (Margherita)” by Amedeo Modigliani, worth $12 million.
Prior to the auction, “Two Nudes in the Woods” was part of the “Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910-1950” exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as the Palace of Fine Arts exhibition in the City of Mexico in 2017.
