Self-portrait of Frida Kahlo breaks record and sells for $ 34.9 million

A self-portrait of Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter of the 20th century recognized for her unique way of sublimating pain through art, became on Tuesday the most expensive piece by a Latin American artist sold at auction, reaching 34.9 millions of dollars.

The

painting

was sold at Sotheby's auction house in London,

, a Diego Rivera piece that was auctioned for almost $ 10 million in 2018.

The

was the buyer of the self -

portrait, Sotheby's confirmed to the news agency Efe.

The auction house specified that Constantini, a renowned art collector and founder of the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA), bought the work for his private collection, and not for the Argentine gallery.

Recently, Constantini acquired other works of art by important Hispanic artists for the MALBA, such as

(1943), by the Cuban Wifredo Lam, for which he paid 9.6 million dollars, and

(1956), by the Spanish Remedios Varo, for 6.2 million dollars, both historical prices for these painters.

The piece that was sold on Tuesday was completed by Kahlo in 1949, five years before her death, at a time when the physical pain she was living with had intensified and her relationship with Rivera was suffering, as she explained to our chain NBC News sister is art historian Natalia Zerbato, who studies Kahlo's life and work at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Frida Kahlo's painting, 'Diego and I,' displayed at Sotheby's auction house on October 21, 2021.Matt Dunham / AP

In this work, Kahlo shows herself shedding three tears and on these, at the height of her forehead, is the image of Rivera, who she is representing with three eyes.

"This is an important work from her late period, when her physical pain had intensified and her painting became erratic. She looks less balanced and elegant," Adriana Zavala, curator of Kahlo's exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden in 2015.

[The exhibition 'Las calaveras de Frida' opens in Mexico City]

For Mexican and Latin American art expert Gregorio Luke, Kahlo's work has become so iconic in recent years because it symbolizes the fusion of cultures.

Kahlo was born in 1907 in Mexico City, the daughter of a German-Hungarian Jewish immigrant and an indigenous woman.

At the age of six Kahlo fell ill with polio, so her right leg was shorter than her left.

But her life became even more complicated at age 18, when

, during which time she began to paint.

“I think Frida's popularity is due to her being multicultural.

She is multiracial.

She embodies this more than any other artist, ”Luke, the former director of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California, told NBC News.

I think Frida's popularity is due to her being multicultural "

Gregorio Luke Expert in Mexican art

Before the auction, Sotheby's already estimated that the painting would sell in a range of between 30 and 50 million dollars, not only because of its artistic level, but also because the works of 20th century artists have been revalued and there has been a deep interest by the Latin American artists of the surrealist current.

"Offering the work [

] at our November Modern Sale Night carries the message of the recent expansion of the modern category to include a greater representation of underrepresented artists, particularly female artists, and forces us to rethink how they have historically been valued at auctions, "Sotheby's Art Sales President Brooke Lampley said in a statement.