The Wounded Deer

In The Wounded Deer, Kahlo paints herself as an animal and human hybrid. She has the body of a deer along with antlers extending from her own head. The deer is standing up, its legs extended in action. Its front right leg is elevated off the ground, as though it is injured or in motion. In the deer's body are nine arrows, creating wounds from which blood flows. The deer is in a forest; nine trees are on the right of the deer, and a broken branch lies in the foreground. Only the tree trunks can be seen in the picture plane; none of the foliage above is visible. One of the branches on the tree in the right of the foreground is severed. It is probable that the detached limb is the branch located on the ground before the deer. The broken branch is prominent, as it is given more detail by the artist than all of the forest floor. Kahlo's face stares stoically at the viewer, showing little sign of pain. Her neck and head are upright and alert. A set of deer ears emerge from behind Kahlo's own. In the background a body of water is present, which can be seen through the trees. Though the sky is bright, a bolt of lightning strikes down from a white cloud. The word "carma" (karma) is written in the bottom left corner of the painting, after the artist's signature and the year of creation. The Wounded Deer is mostly rendered with green, brown, and gray tones, as well as small measures of blue and red. The painting's physical dimensions are very modest, measuring at only 22.4 x 30 centimeters. ==Interpretation and analysis==

In this painting, Kahlo shares her lifelong splanchnic pain with her audience. The pain she represents is not only physical, but emotional torment caused by her relationship with Rivera. It is Mexican tradition to place a broken branch on a grave. This is taken as an acknowledgement of the artist's deteriorating health. Despite the wounds on the body of the deer, Kahlo does not paint a face of anguish, but of strength. Kahlo is representing herself as part male and part female, as well as elements of human and animal features. This hybrid form is often explained by the artist's influence of pre-Columbian ideas and traditions, which hold the belief that the right foot is represented by a deer. The pre-Columbian, Buddhist, and Christian symbols combine to reflect Kahlo's multi-cultural reality a reality which also represents a spectrum of gender possibilities. She renders herself with these juxtaposing features to explore the concept of the self. Through these changes, identity is seen as dynamic and complex, not a fixed state. ==See also==