Itzucintli Dog With Me Essay

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter who did self-portraits and was considered a feminist icon. She is one of the most important female artists of the twentieth century. She originally wanted to become a doctor, but a bus accident left her unable to do so. I chose this artist because she had one eyebrow and I thought it was strange for a rich woman to have such a statement in the early 1900s. I thought to myself, she must be an interesting person and I was right. She didn't have any formal training but she developed her artistic skills and later would influence people and culture. The painting is called, Itzucintli Dog with Me and it is one of my favorites.

Itzucintli Dog with Me is a self-portrait, painted in 1938. It was painted using oils

and canvas, her favorite medium. She is holding a cigarette and looks content, but her surroundings are gloomy and depressing which match her mood. It was painted in 1938 and is of Frida sitting in a chair with one of her dogs. The background is grey, black, dark brown, rust, and a concrete color. Black is the color Frida would use to indicate nothingness, depression, or emptiness. Her dress is black and this description matches her solemn expression. There’s a fine, dark, and a straight line near the bottom of the painting, behind Frida’s chair, indicating that she is in a room. The line is continuous, as it goes off the page on both sides. The room appears to be empty and it looks depressing and gloomy. The walls are a light grey color, and the floor has dark shading in the corners and gets lighter as it moves toward the front of the room. Because there’s nothing in the background, Frida stands out in the painting. There is space all around her. She sits in the center of the room and her dog stands off near the edge. The gloomy colors go well with her monochrome dress, the gray color of the floor and the black dog. The black shades of the corners of the room are pleasing to the eye is in the back center of the painting. Adding the white highlights to the black makes it looks ruffled, full, and a smooth, satin material. The lower part of the dress is almost all white except for the light lines of grey and black to give it a ruffled appearance. The bottom is drawn with a single, thin, wavy line in a half circle to give it a full look. The top of her dress is black with small, white dots to indicate beads or another kind of decoration. The sides are gold with white tints. The golden, thin, curved lines look like embroidery. The silver necklace is a delicate, straight line and has a grey tint. On her neck is a small, jeweled necklace. All of her jewelry stands out on her bronze skin and black dress. Hanging from one of her ears is a large, blue feather earring. It is painted with lots of small, thin lines to indicate the fluffiness of a feather. It’s light at the top that gradually becomes darker. Her body is facing the left side and which is noticeably darker than the left. Her lips are a bright red with a small fleck of white paint added for highlight. There also appears to be, what looks like a small, yellow flower above it. The cigarette she’s holding is in contrast to her black dress. The cigarette holder is a thin, white line and the cigarette is a small, thicker white line. In her dark hair, there are small, white strokes for her ribbon. It looks smooth and possibly made of silk. Her brown chair is has a darker shade on the left side for shadow. There’s something tan on the chair, again, probably for decoration. It’s shaded to look like braided rope. On the right side of the room, there’s an open window. The right side of her body is a lighter hue than her left. Even the floor is lighter on the right side. Frida was unable to have children because of a bus accident and that left her with a need for affection that she would have gotten from children. The dog in this painting is a rare and expensive breed, one of Frida’s favorites, and she is normally seen holding one of her many pets. However, in this painting, she seems distant in and gloomy. The dog is on the floor and away from her, seemingly by itself. Her dog is black with white highlights from the sun. The light is hitting its fur and giving it dimension. The light, concrete color of the floor is in contrast to its dark fur. Since it is a painting, the whole thing is flat and two dimensional. From right to left, the painting gradually gets darker and more shadowed. The contrast of this painting is between the dark of the room and light from the window. Also, in contrast, is the height and size of Frieda and her dog. There’s also the empty state of the room and Frida’s beautiful dress. The balance of the painting feels off at first. Frida is sitting in a chair and is facing left. Her dog is sitting on the left side and you can see the right side of the chair. Everything is on the right side of the room. But, it is shaded darker on the left side and Frida’ dress is on the left side as well. This balances out the room. Frida’s room feels small, cold, and depressing. You can almost smell the smoke from her cigarette. While this painting was being restored, a first attempt painting was found underneath. It shows birds and plants around a lake. Was there a reason to paint something so gloomy over a seeming happy painting? Maybe she had run out of canvases to draw on? Or maybe inspiration hit her and she instead painted Itzcuintli Dog with Me instead? We may never know the answer.
In 1938, Frida lived with her husband, Diego Rivera in the upper-class neighborhood in San Angel, Mexico. It was a joint house. Frida’s half was painted blue and Rivera’s half was painted pink. Frida was asked to paint a portrait of Luce and Dorothy Hale. The painting was to be given to Dorothy’s mother. It was called The Suicide of Dorothy Hale. Frida’s earlier paintings were exhibited at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. This was a profitable year for Frida. In 1938, she made $800 from a man named Edward G. Robinson after he bought four of her paintings. In October, Frida wore one of her Mexican dresses to New York which caught everyone’s eye.
The breed of dog in the Frida’s 1938 painting, Itzcuintli Dog with Me, is an itzcuintli dog or a Mexican Hairless.

Popular in Mexico, they are revered for the calm and loyal personality. They were thought to have healing properties and have a connection to the spirit world. Itzcuintli dogs are also used as comforters and healers. Frida and her husband had several Itzcuintli dogs living with them in their home. Of all the animals they had as pets, Itzcuintlis was one of Frida’s favorites. Frida has several paintings of her animals. She is usually holding them, or they are sitting on her lap or shoulders. The dog in the picture, however, is not being held like in the previous paintings, nor is being treated like a favorite. Instead, it is on the floor and distant from Frida. Frida had previously suffered a miscarriage and an abortion. She probably bought so many dogs because she wanted to use them to connect to the “spirit world” and speak to her dead children. Or maybe, she wanted the dogs to heal her body so she could bear children. Either way, it is strange to see her being so distant to her animals. I imagine that Frida was going through a difficult mood as she was paining Itzcuintlis Dog with Me. The word “with” is more personal than the word “and” For example, Itzcuintlis Dog with Me means that even though she is physically away from her dog, it is with her. Itzcuintlis Dog and Me is more formal as if they are merely acquaintances and not kindred spirits. Looking at this painting, you would have never guessed that she suffered so much in her lifetime. The only form of therapy she had was being creative expressing herself through her paintings. She was self-taught and expressed herself through her art. Her art tells a story about a woman who’s been through so much pain and depression but still managed to pick herself up and keep going. Frida was one of few women who stood up for herself in a world dominated by men. More than half a century later, her art is

still being praised, so at least none of her suffering was in vain.
I enjoyed researching Frida Kahlo. Despite my love of the painting, it is far too depressing to have in my home. It would depress me every time I would go to look at it. I greatly admire Frida Kahlo and she is such an inspiration to me. She taught me that if life gives you lemons, you paint those lemons until they resemble something new.