You know, I recently looked again at the self-portrait with a thorn necklace and hummingbird by Frida Kahlo — and every time, this work strikes me anew. The painting is from 1940, but it feels like it was painted yesterday, so alive and piercing it is.

What is it about it? At first glance — just a female portrait. But it’s not just a portrait. It’s a confession on canvas. You look at the self-portrait with a thorn necklace and hummingbird, and realize: you’re not looking at a pretty picture, but a cry of pain expressed through images. The thorn necklace cuts into the skin, the hummingbird — small, fragile, like Frida herself.

She conveyed everything in this work: the physical pain that haunted her throughout her life, the emotional strength that allowed her to survive, and a deep connection to Mexican culture. This is not just a self-portrait with a thorn necklace and hummingbird — it’s a philosophy of life through suffering.

Why has this painting become so iconic? Because Frida didn’t hide her pain, didn’t paint it in beautiful colors. She showed herself as she was — with blue eyebrows, pain in her eyes, with thorns around her neck. And in this honesty — all her strength.

Now the painting is housed in the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City, and I am sure that everyone who sees it feels the same — that before them is not just a work of art, but a part of someone’s soul.