In Self Portrait with Braid (1941), the infamous Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, reclaims her image in the aftermath of heartbreak, binding her identity, both literally and figuratively, through the tightly woven plait that crowns her head.

Lucy Rowan’s portrait review unravels the tension between vulnerability and resilience in Kahlo’s work, examining how the artist transformed pain into poise and personal mythology into a timeless declaration of selfhood.