Portrait of Agustin Olmedo

Portrait of Agustin Olmedo 1927

Oil on canvas 13 ½" x 15 ¾" Frida Kahlo Museum Coyoacán, Mexico

During the first 6 months of 1927, Frida painted several portraits of friends and family. This little known and rarely seen portrait is of Agustin Olmedo, a close friend of Frida and Alejandro and also a member of the group known as "Cachuchas". The subject's pose is in a similar Renaissance style that Frida used in her own 1926 painting "Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress". The background, however, is very plain and unlike backgrounds Kahlo used in her other paintings. This is probably one of her earliest portraits from that year as in this portrait she has not yet perfected her skills. As you can see in the painting his left eye is slightly larger than the right eye. The painting has sustained some damage in the center of his jacket. The damage was inflicted by Kahlo herself when she learned that Agustin was badmouthing her by saying that "she isn't worth not even a cent".