Frida Kahlo's iconic final self-portrait on display in Buenos Aires


By AGENCY
Kahlo's self-portrait work 'Diego y yo' (Diego And I) is the centrepiece of the new 'Tercer ojo' (Third Eye) exhibit at the Malba Museum in Buenos Aires. Photo: AFP

Visitors to Buenos Aires will have the chance to marvel at the most expensive work by a Latin American artist ever to sell at auction - a self-portrait by Frida Kahlo (1907-1954).

The Mexican artist's work Diego y yo (Diego And I) is the centrepiece of the new Tercer ojo (Third Eye) exhibit at the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires - also known as the Malba - which opened recently.

The museum's founder, Argentinian entrepreneur Eduardo Costantini, bought the painting at auction in New York last November for the record sum of US$34.9mil (RM157mil).

Completed in 1949, Diego y yo shows Kahlo's own face with her husband Diego Rivera depicted in the middle of her forehead.

The paining is her final self-portrait, created five years before her death in 1954.

It represents her passionate but difficult relationship with the famous muralist, from whom she divorced at some point before the couple remarried in 1940.

The painting was last on public display in 1998, before it was purchased by a private collection in the US.

In 2021, it was sold off at auction, fetching the highest price ever paid for Latin American art.

Tecer ojose combines Costantini's private collection and works from the Malba, with 240 pieces by Latin American artists like Diego Rivera, Tarsila do Amaral, Xul Solar, Joaquín Torres García, Emilio Pettoruti, Wifredo Lam, Roberto Matta, Maria Martins, Remedios Varo, Antonio Berni and Jorge de la Vega on display. - dpa

Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access

Monthly Plan

RM 13.90/month

RM 11.12/month

Billed as RM 11.12 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter.

Best Value

Annual Plan

RM 12.33/month

RM 9.87/month

Billed as RM 118.40 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In Culture

French Crazy Horse cabaret comes to Dubai - with less nudity
'Tears Under The Rising Sun' tells a poignant tale of lives shaped by war
Patrick Stewart found 'Star Trek' fame but always returned to Shakespeare
Weekend for the arts: Rasa & Keringat exhibitions, A4 Art Fair, Muara Arts Gallery
Korean Cultural Centre in KL bridges two nations through culture
'Night Shift' exhibition unearths the people and places behind KL's after-dark culture
Irish bookshops help meet British demand for Sally Rooney novels
Discover a confluence of people, ideas and art at Muara Arts Gallery
Egyptian mummy portraits show antiquity's piercing gaze in new Rome show
Germany celebrates the dachshund’s enduring place in art history

Air Pollutant Index

Note: API is calculated based on 24hr running average of the most dominant parameter.

Highest API Readings

    Select State and Location to view the latest API reading

    Others Also Read