What was the name of Frida Kahlo’s 1938 painting of a monkey beside her?

Frida Kahlo’s 1938 painting of a monkey beside her is titled Self-Portrait with Monkey.

Kahlo frequently included animals in her self-portraits, including monkeys, parrots, dogs, and deer. These creatures were part of her domestic environment and also contributed to the dense symbolic world of her paintings. The monkey in this work appears close to Kahlo’s shoulder, creating an intimate but watchful composition.

The painting belongs to the period when Kahlo’s international reputation was beginning to expand. It was made shortly before her first solo exhibition in New York and her important Paris exhibition.

The title is sometimes confused with other Kahlo self-portraits that include monkeys. Several related works exist, so the year and singular title help distinguish this 1938 painting from later compositions.