Also called The Nucleus of Creation, this painting is very busy with a bold mix of contrasting colours and a wide array of imagery. The focal point is the sun, which can be interpreted as the centre of all religions. In the middle, we see the infant Moses with the third eye on his forehead. The painting can be divided into three distinct but equally broad categories. The top consists largely of gods and the symbology of Freemasonry and the occult. The upper-left corner depicts pre-Columbian religion, while the upper-right corner depicts religion and mythology from the ancient Egyptian to the Graeco-Roman and Judeo-Christian.
Note the lunar connection to the Virgin Mary, often attributed in occult and astrotheological beliefs. To her right is the trinity of the Godhead with its three faces surrounded by a Sun-like halo. Immediately to the right is the all-seeing eye of Freemasonry with its light-bringing rays acting as the point of illumination in the painting. The middle of the painting shows what Frida calls heroes. Here we see a range of major historical figures, including but not limited to: the Buddha, Karl Marx, Jesus of Nazareth, Mahatma Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great.
The lower portion shows the vulgate. The masses of faceless people and apes appear to be waving nationalistic flags whilst the blood red sky burns behind them. They are flanked by two figures that appear to be reminiscent of (on the bottom left) Prometheus and on the bottom-right by a woman sacrificing a lamb with a human head, perhaps alluding to Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac. There are many more interpretations and meanings behind the symbology used in this painting that can be explained here. In short, the painting can be likened to paintings commonly found in Freemasonic lodges, such as Jacob's Ladder initiation paintings. The blend of surreal and symbolic is deep and differs from much of Frida's other works. This work can be found at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.
