Painter, illustrator and novelist Leonor Fini has been mentioned here before in a post about women Surrealist artists but her wonderful paintings deserve renewed attention. There’s an official site and galleries here (follow the links at the bottom of the page) and here but her work is so profuse and varied there could easily stand to be more.
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The fantastic art archive
Previously on { feuilleton }
• The art of Michel Henricot
• Surrealist women
I think she’s probably my favourite 20th century French artist.
I grew up amongst her drawings and one of the very first paintings I got as an adult was one of hers (not a painting actually- I am not that rich – but a lithography).
A great Argentinian artist, I have a post prepared about her for the next week.
Lucky you having an original print, Nathalie!
I used to know her work mainly from books on the Surrealists. That’s a shame because it tends to make her seem a minor artist. I saw a couple of her oil paintings at a Brighton exhibition dedicated to Edward James‘s life and art collection in 1998. Would be nice to have a decent monograph.
There are some around (although maybe not recent). My parents had an excellent one in 2 volumes (but it must have been printed in the sixties or the beginning of the seventies at the latest.
Probably an item for second hand book stores.
please please please can someone tell me what the name of the painting above is ?
Hi Jane. If I knew the title I’d have included it, as I do with all pictures posted here. Unfortunately the site from which it originates makes a big effort to prevent you copying their pictures (despite having no rights in the works displayed) but doesn’t take the trouble to credit any of the paintings they post. I’d suggest you ask the Ten Dreams site where they copied it from originally.
I know this is a rather old post, but the title of the painting is “The Ideal Life”.
In fact, the title is “Une Vie Ideale” – which translates to An Ideal Life.
Has anyone seen a painting of Leonor Finin’s called Melita? I know her best friend’s name was Melita.
Hi Shirley. This appears to be the one:
http://www.leonor-fini.com/uploads/tx_minskyproducts/Melita_1988_HST_46x61cm.jpg
The title of the painting is “Une Vie Ideale” (An Ideal Life). It was first exhibited in 1951 at the Galleria dell’Ala Napaleonica, Venezia 9/2 thr 9/15. It is currently in Peru.
I am posting an image of another painting titled “Melita” on the Leonor Fini Facebook page. Also, there is an additional painting of this same figure from the back.