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A few small nips!

Frida Kahlo • Painting, 1935, 30×40 cm
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About the artwork
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Art form: Painting
Subject and objects: Genre scene
Style of art: Symbolism
Technique: Oil
Materials: Metal
Date of creation: 1935
Size: 30×40 cm
Content 18+
Artwork in selections: 59 selections

Description of the artwork «A few small nips!»

Long before Frida Kahlo became Diego Rivera's  third wife, she had been well aware that he was unable to remain faithful to any of his women. Perhaps at first she had illusions that her lover would change next to her, but they quickly disappeared. She had to put up with the numerous betrayals of her husband, who justified himself by the fact that he remained devoted only to her through thick and thin. Devoted, but not faithful. The last straw, which became an unbearably painful blow for Frida, was Diego’s romance with her youngest, most beloved sister Cristina, which lasted about a year.

No canvas would be enough to fully depict the pain of the betrayal of two close people. Therefore, Frida resorted to metaphors and projections. A daily paper report about the murder of an unfaithful woman by a jealous lover inspired her to create the picture. He stabbed her again and again, and on the court the murderer claimed, “But I just give her a couple of little nips!” and feigned perplexity. This cynical phrase became the title of the painting, written on a white ribbon held by white and black doves. Birds seem to symbolize the light and dark sides of love.
On a preliminary sketch for this work, the ribbon contained a quote from a popular then song: “My sweetheart does not love me any more”. Further text reads: “...because she gave herself to another villain, but today I got my hands on her, her time has come.”

Frida managed to make the A Few Small Nips painting especially realistic and creepy, particularly with the blood-stained frame. And when the work was completed, the artist added one more final touch — she pierced the frame several times with a knife.

The painting was first presented to the public at the solo exhibition of Frida Kahlo in New York in 1938. It was titled Passionately in Love.

Written by Yevgheniia Sidelnikova 
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