It's not surprising that the piece of art I chose to be ideal is a self portrait that my absolute favorite artist, Frida Kahlo, painted in 1943. I'm not sure why this painting speaks to me so much but there are so many things about it that I love. You could start with the colors, I really enjoy the large green leaves in the background, they really give me a good feeling of beauty and warmth, even though there is a skull and crossbones depicted on her forehead. The painting is titled "Thinking About Death" it's somewhat bleak but it's something we all do and are all aware of. Being aware of our own mortality is one of the things that separates us from animals. I love how the picture of the skull and crossbones, symbolizing death, sits on the outside of her head, making it look as though we could stare straight into her mind. To me it's a very personally and intimate piece of art because in a way we actually are taking a look into her head. We get to see what she thought and in a way to me it feels like Frida is sharing her thoughts directly with the viewer. I also love the contrast between life and death, the life being represented by the green leaves. Frida painted herself, surrounded by life in nature, but still thinking about death. If you take a closer look at the stems of the leaves behind her you can see they have thorns that make them serrated like a knife. I think this painting speaks volumes about what Frida Kahlo thought about nature and the connection between life and nature, and death and nature.
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