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Leonor Fini Paintings

French, 1908-1996

Leonor Fini was the life of the party during the French Surrealist movement. A socialite with connections to some of the movement's biggest names, Fini was also an astoundingly gifted artist in her own right. In fact, many consider her to be the most fiercely independent female artist of the 20th century. A theatrical personality, Fini created prints, paintings and drawings that are widely revered for their sensuous qualities and raw energy.

Fini's life started off in a dramatic fashion, which was perhaps a portent of things to come. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1907, but her parents separated soon after and her mother took her away to Trieste, Italy. Due to her father's attempts to kidnap her, Fini was often dressed as a boy throughout her childhood. 

Fini was surrounded by artistic women in Trieste, and she naturally developed a love for art as well. By the time she was 17, she had become familiar with Renaissance art and Mannerist painting and was exhibiting her own portraits. In 1931, at just 24 years of age, Fini moved to Paris and became acquainted with influential artists Giorgio de Chirico and Carlos Carrà. She also met and started a romantic relationship with Surrealist pioneer Max Ernst, who introduced her to others in the movement.

Though she had no formal art education, Fini proved herself to be both technically masterful and creatively exceptional. Her work and her flamboyant personality attracted the attention of many of the 20th century's most celebrated artists and thinkers, including Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau, Albert Camus and Jean Genet, just to name a very few. She exhibited her work in many Parisian art galleries, including the gallery of Christian Dior before the fashion icon became a designer.

In the 1950s, Fini continued painting while immersing herself in other artistic and dramatic endeavors, including theater costume and mask design. She also designed posters for the Paris Opera and wardrobes for movies.

Fini continued living and painting in Paris for the rest of her life. She died in 1996.

On 1stDibs, find original Leonor Fini prints, paintings and drawings.

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Artist: Leonor Fini
10a
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on Arches paper Exemplaire B/165
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Archival Paper

10b
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165
Category

1960s Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Washi Paper, Lithograph

1a
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on Arches Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, in the...
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Archival Paper

3a
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on Arches Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, in the...
Category

1960s Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Archival Paper

3b
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, i...
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Lithograph

9b
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, i...
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Washi Paper

12b
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, i...
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Washi Paper

4b
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Washi Paper

4a
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on Arches paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, ...
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Lithograph

1b
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on washi paper Exemplaire B/165 Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, i...
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Washi Paper

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1940s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

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Portrait of Pao Ying
By Leonor Fini
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"Portrait of Pao Ying" is a painting by Surrealist Leonor Fini. The painting is signed lower right, "Leonor Fini". The framed portrait measures 19 7/8 x 14 5/8 x 1 1/2 in. The sitter, Pao Ying (spelled in catalogue raisonne Pao Weng), was a close friend of Leonor Fini. Pao was also an artist, a jewelry designer. This is the only known painting by Fini of a Chinese woman. The frame is original. Leonor Fini (1907 – 1996) was born in Argentina, grew up in Italy, and spent much of her adult life in Paris working alongside such modern masters as Max Ernst, Andre Breton, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and George Balanchine. A self-taught artist, Fini’s work spans many mediums, including drawing, printmaking, costume design, and theatrical sets. As a painter, Fini is typically grouped with European surrealism, although she rejected what she considered the reductive labels of art movements. Nonetheless, Fini’s work engages with the unconscious and includes fantastical scenes with jarring, other-worldly juxtapositions and symbolism. Unlike many surrealists, however, Fini engages deeply with the corporeality of the human body in a way that often subverts gender norms. Fini’s female figures are typically dominant and stoic, while her male figures are eroticized. In other cases, the figures are highly androgynous and eroticized, complicating the way human sexuality is normally presented. Described by many to be particularly tall and commanding in physical appearance with very unusual cat-like eyes, in many ways she was more creaturely than human. Taking the artistic interest in the motif of an animal/human hybrid somewhat literally, she stood as an embodiment of feline transformation and metamorphosis, and came to accurately identify herself with the ancient figure of a Sphinx. Deadly in Greek tradition, whilst benevolent but ferocious in Egyptian stories, the appearance of the mythical creature is symbolic of Fini's love for artifice and nature combined. During her lifetime, Fini’s work was regularly well received and moderately successful. She enjoyed inclusion in the 1936 landmark MOMA exhibition Fantastic, Dada, Surrealism and a show at the Julien Levy gallery in New York. More recently, her art has enjoyed considerably more attention as she undergoes a critical and scholarly re-evaluation. She has been the subject of recent solo exhibitions at the Museum of Sex, New York (2018); the Weinstein Gallery...
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

7b
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on washi paper Ed. H.C. X Exemplaire B
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Lithograph

7b
H 14.5 in W 11 in
7a
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on Arches Ed. H.C. X Exemplaire B Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris,...
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Archival Paper

7a
7a
H 14.5 in W 11 in
12a
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Lithograph on Arches Ed. H.C. X Exemplaire B Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris,...
Category

1960s Surrealist Leonor Fini Paintings

Materials

Lithograph, Archival Paper

1
By Leonor Fini
Located in Columbia, MO
Watercolor on Arches Leonor Fini was born in Argentina in 1907 but travelled and lived in Europe with her mother from a young age. By 1931, she was in Paris, in the full swing of th...
Category

1960s Expressionist Leonor Fini Paintings

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Watercolor

Leonor Fini paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Leonor Fini paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Leonor Fini in paper, lithograph, archival paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Surrealist style. Not every interior allows for large Leonor Fini paintings, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Oleg Turchin, Gigino Falconi, and David Cheifetz. Leonor Fini paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,920 and tops out at $400,000, while the average work can sell for $1,920.
Questions About Leonor Fini Paintings
  • 1stDibs ExpertAugust 29, 2024
    Yes, Leonor Fini was a Surrealist. Though she had no formal art education, Fini proved to be both technically masterful and creatively exceptional. Her work and her flamboyant personality attracted the attention of many of the 20th century's most celebrated artists and thinkers, including Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau, Albert Camus and Jean Genet. She exhibited her work in many Parisian art galleries, including the gallery of Christian Dior, before the fashion icon became a designer. On 1stDibs, explore a variety of Leonor Fini art.

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