Moses, or Birth of the Hero

Frida Kahlo gets the award for her painting Moses. Photographer: unknown, 1945

Painting Nr. 104, Frida Kahlo, Moses, 1945

Oil on masonite, 61 x 75,6 cm, Private collection, Houston, TX
In a written description of this painting, Frida refers to it as "Moses, or Birth of the Hero". For this work Frida was awarded second prize at the annual art exhibition in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico. 

The inspiration for this painting was provided by Sigmund Freud's book, "Moses the Man and Monotheistic Religion". She was fascinated by the book and painted the picture after finishing the book. This painting was done in the style of a miniature mural. The central figure of the abandoned baby Moses closely resembles Diego, and wears, like Diego in other paintings, the third eye of wisdom on his forehead. The birth is beneath a life giving sun flanked by gods, heroes, common humanity, and the all-embracing hands of death. In the foreground a conch spurting fluid into a concave shell is, Frida said, a symbol of love. Fresh, leafy branches sprouting from dead tree trunks refer to the life/death cycle that appears in many of Frida's paintings.

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# 104: Frida Kahlo, Moses, 1945; Licensed replica © Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2008