Leonor Fini: The Surrealist Sphinx Gets a Major Milan Retrospective
Palazzo Reale in Milan will host a major retrospective on Leonor Fini (1909–1996), the Argentine-born Italian Surrealist painter, designer, and costume maker, opening in late February 2025. The exhibition aims to reintroduce Fini—still little known to Milanese audiences—by exploring her ties to the Surrealist movement and her unique, female-centered iconography. Fini, whom Max Ernst called the 'Italian fury in Paris,' blended Surrealism, Pre-Raphaelitism, and Renaissance influences. She never officially joined the Surrealist group but maintained close friendships with Ernst, Dalí, and others. Her work features enigmatic sphinxes, cats, and erotic dreamscapes. The show will highlight her role as a key 20th-century woman artist, addressing themes of gender, identity, and femininity. Fini also designed costumes for the legendary 'Ball of the Century' at Palazzo Labia in Venice and created the iconic Shocking perfume bottle for Elsa Schiaparelli. The retrospective is curated by Emma Sedini and draws on recent scholarship.
Key facts
- Leonor Fini was born in Buenos Aires in 1909 and died in Paris in 1996.
- She moved to Trieste as a child after her parents separated.
- Fini studied painting under Edmondo Passauro in Trieste.
- She participated in the Seconda Esposizione del Sindacato Fascista di Belle Arti.
- In 1929, she exhibited at Antonio Barbaroux's gallery in Milan.
- She designed the floor mosaic 'Cavalcata delle Amazzoni' at the Triennale in Milan with Achille Funi.
- Fini moved to Paris in 1931 and exhibited at Galerie Bernheim in 1932.
- She was included in the 1932 Venice Biennale alongside De Pisis, Campigli, de Chirico, Garbari, and Severini.
- Her lover and companion was writer André Pieyre de Mandiargues.
- She traveled to New York with Max Ernst, exhibiting at Julian Levy Gallery and meeting MOMA director Alfred Barr.
- Fini designed the Shocking perfume bottle for Elsa Schiaparelli.
- During WWII, she fled to Monte Carlo with Stanislao Lepri.
- She attended the 'Ball of the Century' at Palazzo Labia in Venice dressed as a black angel.
- After her mother's death in 1971, her work turned more introspective, influenced by Pre-Raphaelitism, Füssli, and William Blake.
- The Palazzo Reale exhibition is titled after the sphinx, a key motif in her work.
- The show opens in late February 2025.
Entities
Artists
- Leonor Fini
- Max Ernst
- Salvador Dalí
- Edmondo Passauro
- Ernesto Nathan Rogers
- Carlo Sbisà
- Felicita Frai
- Achille Funi
- Filippo de Pisis
- Massimo Campigli
- Giorgio de Chirico
- Ulvi Garbari
- Gino Severini
- André Pieyre de Mandiargues
- Stanislao Lepri
- Konstantin Jelénski
- Fabrizio Clerici
- Luchino Visconti
- Carlo Levi
- Elsa Morante
- Alberto Moravia
- Christian Dior
- Elsa Schiaparelli
- Alfred Barr
- Julian Levy
- Carlos de Bestegui
- Emma Sedini
- Füssli
- William Blake
- Tiziano
- Arcimboldo
- Parmigianino
- Leonora Carrington
- Mae West
- James Joyce
- Italo Svevo
- Umberto Saba
- Paul Éluard
- Victor Brauner
- Sigmund Freud
- Tere Arcq
- Carlos Martin
Institutions
- Palazzo Reale
- Triennale
- Galleria di Antonio Barbaroux
- La Permanente
- Galerie Bernheim
- Biennale di Venezia
- Julian Levy Gallery
- MOMA
- Palazzo Labia
- Teatro alla Scala
- Artribune
- Galleria Barbaroux
- New Burlington Galleries
- Museum of Modern Art
- Julien Levy Gallery
Locations
- Buenos Aires
- Argentina
- Trieste
- Italy
- Milan
- Paris
- France
- New York
- United States
- Monte Carlo
- Monaco
- Rome
- Venice
- Palazzo Labia
- Canal Grande
- London
- United Kingdom