Self-portrait with scorpion, Leonor Fini, 1938, private collection.
Leonor by Beatrice Brandini
“Then comes Leonor. The windows become light, the cobwebs become precious curtains of clouds and stars, the dry branches become lit candles, and the evening is a great evening; because Leonor (as I have told her a thousand times and as I will never tire of telling her) unites in herself two graces: childhood and majesty.” In Elsa Morante’s Torre San Lorenzo.
A glimpse of the exhibition “I am LEONOR FINI”, courtesy Mondo Mostre
Until July 20, 2025, you can visit the exhibition “Io sono LEONOR FINI” (Palazzo Reale, Milan), an exhibition that aims to do justice to an eclectic and talented artist, never truly appreciated by critics, especially because of her personality and her nonconformism.
Lady with the red hair, by Leonor Fini. 1968. Museo Civico Revoltella
The title of the exhibition comes from a quote by the artist herself in which she said: “I am a painter. When they ask me what I do, I answer: I am”, a reflection of her personality and her free and unconventional artistic identity.
Girl with shells, by Leonor Fini 1947. Courtesy Galleria Tommaso Calabro
The exhibition itinerary accompanies the visitor by showing paintings, drawings, photographs, decorative arts, fashion, costumes, artist books and documents that underline the versatility of this extraordinary artist.
A glimpse of the exhibition “I am LEONOR FINI”, courtesy Mondo Mostre
Leonor Fini (Buenos Aires, 1907, Paris 1996), was an artist but also a female icon, a woman who had an enormous talent that she tried to express freely and tenaciously, never truly understood. Her painting was full of abstract meanings, an independent woman who contributed to redrawing the role of women in art.
The Bathers by Leonor Fini, 1968, private collection
Her life seems to be taken from a movie, so adventurous was it. She fled Buenos Aires with her mother, escaping from a despotic and authoritarian father. For this reason her mother, Malvina, often dressed her up as a boy to escape the many kidnapping attempts by her father. The trick, that of disguise, will characterize Leonor’s entire life, making her also become a great costume designer for the most important theatrical productions.
A glimpse of the exhibition “I am LEONOR FINI”, courtesy Mondo Mostre
Educated and raised in a cultured and Central European environment in Trieste, in her life she will meet extraordinary artists and personalities, such as Dorfles, Saba; Svevo, Dior, Ernst, Elsa Schiaparelli (for her she will design the famous perfume bottle Shocking), Magnani; Morante, Levi, Visconti…
L’Ange de l’anatomie by Leonor Fini, 1949. Private collection
She will participate in many important exhibitions in Paris, London, Venice and New York, changing her painting that will become, over time, increasingly fantastic, “irrational”, dreamlike, in which women will always be the undisputed protagonists characterized by an aura of mystery and madness.
Leonor at the masked ball by Beatrice Brandini
Cats, sphinxes, winged women, flower women, angels, witches, medieval ladies, amazons, priestesses, fairies, these are the myths of Leonor, mainly women characterized by dreamlike atmospheres, but also by nightmares.
Leonor Fini photographed by Cecil Beaton, 1965, Condé Nast Archive
“All my painting is a spell in an autobiography of affirmation that expresses the pulsating aspect of being; the real issue is to transpose the sense of play onto the canvas.” Leonor Fini
A bit like life itself, beauty, joy, play, fate.
Good life to everyone!
Beatrice