Diego y yo can also be considered a double portrait. Kahlo includes a small image of Rivera in the center of her forehead, bearing a third eye to symbolize the degree to which he occupied her consciousness. This charged and emotionally resonant work alludes to Rivera’s relationship with the Mexican diva María Félix, of whom the muralist painted a sensual portrait also in 1949. This relationship was the subject of numerous rumors, and although she joked about it publicly, Kahlo, who was a good friend of Félix, was deeply wounded. One of two paintings in which she explores the motif of the double portrait, Diego y yo is the most vulnerable and moving of the pair. Here, her loose hair (usually tightly laced in braids) almost seems to strangle her; she has flushed cheeks, and an intense, tearful gaze. Her work is celebrated for this raw emotive power and the painting captures an inner restlessness and distress, poignantly reflected in three tears flowing from her eyes, evocative of Madonna of the Sorrows, an iconic image in Western art history. Encompassing so much more than her own personal story, and engaging with existential questions around life, death, and love, Diego y yo speaks to the universal appeal of her work as one of the true titans of 20th century art.