Skip to main content

Primary sourcePainting1935

Unos cuantos piquetitos

Frida Kahlo · 1935

A 1935 painting by Frida Kahlo showing a bloodied woman on a bed and a man standing over her, reflecting the violence in her personal life.

Painted by Kahlo herself, this work shows her direct, unflinching approach to depicting violence and pain in her art.

Ask Frida Kahlo about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Painting in an orange wooden frame. A nude woman with dark hair lies on a bed with white sheets, her body marked with red spots of blood. A man in a dark hat and white shirt, also spotted with blood, stands beside the bed holding a small object. A banner above reads 'UNOS CUANTOS PIQUETITOS!' with a white dove at left and a black bird at right. The floor is yellow-green and the walls are pale with a blue baseboard. Signed 'Frida Kahlo 1935' at lower right.
Frida Kahlo, Unos cuantos piquetitos (A Few Little Pricks), 1935. Museo Dolores Olmedo.

About this source

What it is

This is an oil painting made by Frida Kahlo in 1935. It shows a nude woman lying on a bed, her body covered in red marks of blood, while a man dressed in dark clothes stands beside the bed. A banner above the scene reads 'A few little pricks' and birds appear on either side. It is kept at the Museo Dolores Olmedo.

Why it matters

Kahlo painted this work during a period of personal pain in her own life. It is a striking example of how she used shocking, direct imagery to express private suffering, and it shows her willingness to confront violence and injury directly in her art rather than hide it.

Look closer

  • Why might Kahlo have chosen such a blunt, almost newspaper-like title for such a disturbing scene?
  • What do the two birds at the top of the painting seem to represent?
  • How does the bright, simple setting contrast with the violence shown in the painting?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Frida Kahlo on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Frida Kahlo sources

Meet the AI Frida Kahlo →
An open diary with an orange cover displayed in a glass case. The left page has handwritten Spanish text in blue ink about Hieronymus Bosch and Bruegel. The right page has a blue ink drawing of a winged figure with a spiral-wrapped leg and a small bird, with handwritten captions below.Diary entry

Primary source

The Diary of Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo · c. 1944-1954

Black-and-white studio portrait of a woman with dark hair pulled back and braided on top, wearing hoop earrings, several strands of beaded necklaces, and a textured wrap or shawl. She looks directly at the camera with a serious expression, hand visible at lower right.Photograph

Primary source

Frida Kahlo, by Guillermo Kahlo

Guillermo Kahlo

Blue-walled building with red trim and a green double door under a sign reading MUSEO FRIDA KAHLO. A green-barred window sits to the left, a tree trunk stands in front, and a stone base runs along the bottom.Artifact

Primary source

Frida Kahlo Museum (La Casa Azul)

1958

Glass display case in a museum showing six mannequins wearing traditional Mexican-style embroidered dresses and blouses with full skirts in purple, red, and pink tones, with a small label panel in front.Artifact

Primary source

Frida Kahlo's Tehuana Dresses at the Casa Azul

Full-length painting of a woman standing on a wooden floor between white draped curtains against a green background. She wears a rust-brown shawl, a red blouse, and a pink skirt with white ruffled hem, holding a small bouquet and a handwritten paper. Her dark hair is decorated with flowers.Painting

Primary source

Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky

Frida Kahlo · 1937

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Frida Kahlo now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions