Leonor Fini

Jeffrey Fuller Fine Art, Ltd., Philadelphia (acquired directly from the artist and sold: Freeman's, Philadelphia, May 17, 2009, lot 14)
Weinstein Gallery, San Francisco (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired from the above in 2009

San Francisco, Weinstein Gallery, Leonor Fini—Une Grande Curiosité, 2009, illustrated in the catalogue

Pierre Berdoy, "Chez Leonor Fini" in L’Oeil, no. 88, Paris, April 1962
Pierre Berdoy, "Chez Leonor Fini" in The Best in European Decoration, New York, 1962
Michèle Trinckvel, ed., Leonor Fini, Paris, 1994, illustrated in color n.p.

This work is in very good condition. The canvas is lined. There is a layer of varnish on the surface. There are a few pindot losses along the extreme upper edge due to old frame abrasions. There are a few isolated areas of craquelure. Under UV light: the varnish is difficult to read through, however there appear to be a few old retouches along the lower edge and in the background between the two figure's heads, and above the lower edge.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Talented, flamboyant and often controversial, Leonor Fini was a virtually self-taught artist whose provocative art and vivacious personality quickly garnered her a place at the heart of the Parisian art world. Having been raised in Northern Italy by her fiercely independent mother, Fini arrived in Paris in 1931 when she was just 24 years old. She found she had a natural affinity with the Surrealists, soon developing close ties with the leading writers and painters of the group—including Éluard, Dalí, Man Ray and Ernst—and often exhibiting with them (although she objected to the overt misogyny of André Breton and never considered herself a Surrealist in the strictest sense).

Painted circa 1957, Obscure rencontre represents the best of Fini's post-war career but at the same time is undoubtedly testament to these artists' early but enduring influence on her work. Fini's characteristic rich, swirling and mottled background bears particular comparison with both the grattage technique of Max Ernst and the canvases of Zao Wou-Ki who was active in Paris concurrently (see fig. 1).

This particular handling is specific to Fini's output of the late 1950s which has come to be referred to as her "mineral period." For these canvases, "their smooth finish gave way to a rougher, less distinct style so that the surfaces seemed at times encrusted with jewels of pure paint. This was in part inspired by her excitement at discovering the underwater world during her swimming expedition at Nonza [Fini's summer residence on Corsica]" (Peter Webb, Sphinx, The Life and Art of Leonor Fini, New York, 2007, pp. 196-200). Her imagery focused on "human forms that seem to be growing flesh as the emerge from some primordial sludge... These concerns with love, death and metamorphosis... recall the magic effects of Gustave Moreau in their images of half-human figures taking part in mysterious rituals, painted in glowing colours on jewel-like surfaces, giving the effect of coral or of fossils, and of mineral patterns in stone" (ibid., pp. 196-200).