Happy Birthday, Leonor Fini: The Fiery Artist

 

Leonor-Fini-Cats

“I paint pictures which do not exist and which I would like to see.”- Argentine  painter, Leonor Fini (August 30, 1908- January 18, 1996)*

 

 fini cats and dolls

fini woman with cats

LeonorFini

 

Leonor on her aesthetic strategy:  “I strike it, stalk it, try to make it obey me.  Then in its disobedience, it forms things I like.”

 FiniRedVision

“She is magnificent, perturbing, mocking enigmatic, terrible and compassionate.  She is Leonor Fini; painter of the surreal, illustrator of books, theater.  Her art is the crack in the mirror, the edge of the equation, the dream of tremendous important half-grasped upon awakening, whose meaning dissolves with daylight.”- Catherine Styles McLeod  from the Architectural Digest , March 1986

 leonor fini

“In her life as well as her art, Fini continually advanced the notion of autonomous, absolute woman; beautiful, imperious, and governed by passion.”-  Whitney Chadwick, Art Historian

fini ladies

 

leonor_fini3

 

fini casta diva

 

links for further information on this extraordinary painter and writer:

http://www.leonor-fini.com/

http://www.cfmgallery.com/Leonor-Fini/leonor-fini.html

* some sources claim her birth year as 1907

Published in: on August 30, 2009 at 10:32 am  Comments (20)  
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20 CommentsLeave a comment

  1. On August 30, 2009 at 12:33 pm sputnitsa said:

    Ooooh! Wow, thanks for the introduction. I really like the last painting… The colors, the juxtaposition, the faces…

  2. On August 30, 2009 at 2:58 pm Amy Bai said:

    “I paint pictures which do not exist and which I would like to see.”
    -that’s pretty much how I feel about writing novels.

    Wow. I’d never heard of her, but I can see I’m going to be doing some research in the near future.

  3. On August 30, 2009 at 4:11 pm gypsyscarlett said:

    Heya Sput,

    Glad you like the paintings. Regarding the last painting, yes- especially the young girl’s face. It’s so dreamy and pensive.

  4. On August 30, 2009 at 4:14 pm gypsyscarlett said:

    Hey Amy,

    I immediatey thought the same thing when I read that quote. Very similar to our adage of, “write the story you want to read”. 🙂

    She was a very fascinating woman.

  5. On August 30, 2009 at 7:13 pm ralfast said:

    Great images, all of them.

    Also there seems to be two themes joining all the images: women wearing billowing dresses and cats.

    Just saying.

    😀

  6. On August 30, 2009 at 8:38 pm gypsyscarlett said:

    Heya Ralfast,

    Yes- she definitely held a fascination with felines. 🙂

  7. On August 30, 2009 at 9:26 pm Digital Dame said:

    Remarkable style, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. How in the world did you discover her?

  8. On August 30, 2009 at 10:46 pm Marian said:

    Most of the women have billowy dresses, but in the second painting, the woman on the last shelf looks nude, and the cat has a possessive or protective paw on her.

    …I really hope that doesn’t make me come off as weird for noticing it.

  9. On August 31, 2009 at 2:58 am Edward Trumbo said:

    Intriguing work. Thanks for sharing that!

  10. On August 31, 2009 at 5:19 am colbymarshall1 said:

    Love the cat art–awesome 🙂

  11. On August 31, 2009 at 4:11 pm gypsyscarlett said:

    Hey DD,

    Awhile back I was reading up on surrealist literature and art. I found a site that disussed female surrealist painters, including Fini. (though evidently she didn’t like that label)

    I was immediately fascinated by her work.

  12. On August 31, 2009 at 4:12 pm gypsyscarlett said:

    Hi Edward,

    Glad you enjoyed them. 🙂

  13. On August 31, 2009 at 4:15 pm gypsyscarlett said:

    Marian,

    You needn’t worry about appearing weird when you visit my blog. 😉

  14. On August 31, 2009 at 5:03 pm gypsyscarlett said:

    Hey Colby,

    Oh, that’s right. You’re a fellow cat lover. She’s the perfect artist for you. 🙂

    *I resisted the “purrfect”*

  15. On September 4, 2009 at 1:13 am Dawn Colclasure said:

    Amazing work! I love all of them.

  16. On September 4, 2009 at 12:40 pm jennareynolds said:

    Fantastic! Thanks for sharing!

  17. On September 4, 2009 at 3:29 pm gypsyscarlett said:

    Hi Dawn,

    Nice to hear from you, and really glad you like her artwork. 🙂

  18. On September 4, 2009 at 3:29 pm gypsyscarlett said:

    Hey Jenna,

    Glad you enjoyed! 🙂

  19. On September 6, 2009 at 5:29 pm uppington said:

    “I strike it. I stalk it. I try to make it obey me.” Sounds an awful lot like my writing process, lol. I absolutely love these paintings. As in, really have fallen in love with them. Thank you so much for the introduction.

    Marian, I noticed the same thing – I don’t think you could be considered weird for noticing what is there for all to see!

  20. On September 7, 2009 at 12:20 pm gypsyscarlett said:

    Uppington,

    It sounds like my writing process, too. Only I’ve given up trying to make it obey me. I settle for compromises now. 😉


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