Enamel Magnet: Kahlo's The Two Fridas

This double self-portrait by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is considered her most famous painting. Two versions of Kahlo are seated next to one another. The one on the left is wearing a European-style Victorian dress while the other is wearing a traditional Tehuana dress.

A common interpretation of the work is that this is a representation of Frida’s dual heritage: her European heritage through her father who was German, and her traditional Mexican heritage passed through her mother.

Another interpretation is that the Tehuana Frida is the one Diego Rivera adored (she is holding a small portrait of her husband) while he rejected the European Frida. After all, this painting was made in the year Frida divorced Diego.