Sphinx : the life and art of Leonor Fini
Life and art of Leonor Fini
/ Peter Webb
- New York : Vendome Press , 2009.
- 304 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 31 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 285-296) and index.
Foreword -- Ch. 1. Buenos Aires, Trieste, Milan, 1907-1931 -- Ch. 2. Paris, London, New York, 1931-1939 -- Ch. 3. Arcachon, Monte-Carlo, the Isle of Giglio, Rome, 1939-1946 -- Ch. 4. Paris, Rue Payenne and Rue de Sévigné, 1946-1959 - Ch. 5. Paris, Rue de la Vrillière, 1959-1996 -- Conclusion.
Talented, glamorous and ambitious, Leonor Fini was one of the most influential female artists of the 1930s. From her opulent, bohemian childhood in Italy to her debut in a group exhibition at the age of seventeen and her rise in the international art world, Fini was legendary for both her vivacious personality and her ethereal subjects. This is the first comprehensive look at Finis life and art. Fini's figures--sphinxes, felines, nymphs, priestesses, nudes-- are bold proclamations of female sexuality that convey a powerful feminine subconscious. Also renowned for her theatrical set-design, costumes and posters, the artist developed close relationships with other avant-garde Surrealists including Andre Breton, Salvador Dali, Man Ray, and Max Ernst, who became her lover. Henri Cartier-Bresson's nude portrait of Fini in a pool, taken while they were vacationing together, recently sold at auction for a record sum. Sphinx is a fascinating portrait of a magnetic woman who lived her life with panache and elegance, deftly wrapping drama into her art.