In 1944, Frida Kahlo painted La columna rota, The Broken Column. Her chest is split open to show a crumbling spinal column. The painting is in the Dolores Olmedo Patiño collection. (Video in Spanish.)
In 1946, Kahlo traveled to New York for a spinal fusion. Afterward she painted a double self-portrait. One of the two figures holds a banner that reads Árbol de la esperanza, mantente firme, “Tree of hope, stand firm.” The words of the banner serve as the painting’s title.