Self-assertion, freedom, boldness, and seduction—all the shades of a major protagonist of the “short century” are explored in one of the most comprehensive retrospectives ever dedicated to the elusive Leonor Fini.
Until June 22, 2025, Io sono Leonor Fini, curated by Tere Arcq and Carlos Martín, brings together over a hundred works—paintings, drawings, photographs, costumes, and videos—within the sumptuous rooms of Palazzo Reale in Milan. This enchanting and immersive exhibition, produced in collaboration with MondoMostre and with the essential contribution of the Leonor Fini Estate, reveals the magnetic and rebellious artist behind a richly layered visual imagination—ranging from classical mythology to medieval alchemical processes, from Freudian uncanny elements to, above all, the dreamlike dimension. The exhibition’s title draws from a quote by Fini herself: “I am a painter. When people ask how I do it, I answer: I am.”

Leonor Fini, “Le Radeau”, 1940-43. Oil on canvas, 73 x 92 cm. Cantone Ticino. Fondazione Monte Verità. Donation by Eduard von der Heydt ©Leonor Fini Estate, Paris

A woman of many faces and many veils—like the dresses and masks she made herself—Fini had been accustomed to disguise since childhood. Her mother, Malvina, dressed her as a sailor to shield her from the obsessive attentions of her father, who attempted to kidnap her several times. Born in Buenos Aires on August 30, 1907, with Leo rising and Jupiter in Leo, Eleonora Elena Maria Fini spent her early years in Trieste, under the protection of her maternal family. There, she was immersed in a refined environment and raised among a community of strong-willed women. The family’s vast library and her interactions with intellectuals like Umberto Saba fed her imagination and shaped her into a sensitive, visionary being. In contact with the eclectic Central European culture of Trieste, Fini developed a voracious curiosity, moving gracefully among writers and artists like a sleek blackbird at dusk, searching for ripe fruit among the brambles. Her gaze soon turned into the sharp, piercing vision of a nocturnal predator—fittingly, Elsa Morante called her “my beautiful enchanted owl”, the sacred animal of Athena, a symbol of intelligence and charisma, which Fini often depicted beside herself in her artworks.

Da sinistra: Leonor Fini, “Ea”, 1978. Oil on canvas, 116 x 81 cm. Private Collection ©Leonor Fini Estate, Paris. A destra: Leonor Fini, “Autoportrait à l’hibou”, 1936. Oil on canvas, 63,8 x 51,4 cm. Private Collection ©Leonor Fini Estate, Paris.

A defining feature of her artistic vision—deeply rooted in her childhood—is the portrayal of a world inhabited by women, Amazons, sphinxes, sirens, goddesses, enchantresses, and witches, often engaged in mysterious archaic rituals or pictured looming over sleeping, passive, and androgynous men. As revealed in the many portraits of her great loves—Stanislao Lepri and Constantin Jelenski—Fini was fascinated by the vulnerability of the male body, often depicted in classical nude forms, devoid of shame, sometimes in the pose of a dying Adonis, sometimes in the style of Etruscan sarcophagi or Roman Hermaphrodites. Always through an analytical gaze, free of malice. This ability may have been sharpened by a formative childhood experience—an almost mystical epiphany—when, at just twelve years old, she visited the morgue in Trieste. “There was also a ‘deposit’ morgue where they kept accident victims, those awaiting burial; this room was closed to the public, but the guard, who was fond of me, let me in. The first nude man I ever saw was very beautiful, tall, thin… ‘He was a gypsy,’ the old man said, ‘I showed him to you because he was beautiful, and all children should see what is beautiful.‘”

Leonor Fini, “Stryges Amaouri”, 1947. Oil on canvas, 45,8 x 55 cm. Private Collection ©Leonor Fini Estate, Paris

In Stryges Amaouri (1947), this memory is clearly echoed in the composition: a man lies in the foreground, draped in ivy; behind him is a mysterious figure, and further back, half-hidden in the reeds, the face of a woman—likely a self-portrait in a theatrical setting. The female sphinx is fully alert—both maternally guarding the body and, at the same time, exuding an unspoken sexual desire. Her gaze turns beyond the canvas, catching our attention in a deliberately suggestive way. It is overtly voyeuristic—yet entirely natural and without scandal. In this way, Fini subverts the concept of the “male gaze”, which for centuries in painting, and later in photography and film, had portrayed women as mere objects. Leonor doesn’t ask—she takes. Her attitude toward her own sexuality and the male figure is that of a modern woman, perhaps too modern for her time.

Da sinistra: Leonor Fini, “Sphinx (orange)”, 1973. Mixed media on arches mounted on canvas, 76,2 x 57,2 cm. Private Collection ©Leonor Fini Estate, Paris. A destra: Leonor Fini, “Dans la tour (Autoportrait avec Constantin Jelenski)”, 1952. Oil on canvas, 90,8 x 64,8 cm. Private Collection ©Leonor Fini Estate, Paris

Women morphing into mythological creatures, men rendered powerless by feminine magnetism, and totemic animals silently watching in the background. In Fini’s world, bodies and identities dissolve and reform in a constant process of redefinition, making her work more relevant than ever—especially in today’s conversations around gender, queerness, and social roles. How could such a mind ever be confined by the patriarchal categories of her time? In the late 1920s, Fini moved to Milan, exhibiting in group shows at Galleria Milano. For the 1933 Fifth Triennale, she created the spectacular mosaic Cavalcata delle Amazzoni, based on a cartoon by Achille Funi, still visible in the atrium of the Palazzo dell’Arte. But Milan didn’t hold her for long. Thanks to her connection with Filippo de Pisis, she soon moved to Paris, where she would spend the most productive and celebrated period of her life, achieving international fame until her death in 1996.

Leonor Fini, “Rasch, Rasch, Rasch, meine Puppen Warten!”, 1975. Oil on canvas, 113,8 x 145,5 cm. Private Collection ©Leonor Fini Estate, Paris

In 1930s Paris, Max Ernst called her “The Italian Fury”. Despite connections with Man Ray, Dora Maar, Salvador Dalí, and André Breton, Fini refused the label of “Surrealist”—just as she rejected being called a “female artist”. Fiercely independent, nonconformist, and disarmingly sensual, she lived by her own rules and defied societal norms. Her Paris home was a hub of intellectuals and artists, a space of complete freedom where the line between performance and daily life was blurred. She crafted her magical identity like a bespoke, enchanting garment—and never accepted labels. In Paris, she met Christian Dior, who introduced her to Elsa Schiaparelli, known for her eccentric style and collaborations with Surrealists. Their friendship was both personal and artistic: Schiaparelli dressed Fini in extravagant garments that enhanced her unforgettable image, while Fini designed the iconic perfume bottle shaped like Mae West’s bust.

Leonor Fini, “Les Baigneuses II / Trois filles dans l’eau”, 1972. Oil on canvas, 72,4 x 115,6 cm.
Private Collection ©Leonor Fini Estate, Paris

The theatrical dimension of her work was central to her artistic exploration. The concept of metamorphosis, so obsessively explored through her repeated depiction of sphinxes, also influenced her lifestyle. Her love of role-play and costume turned seaside holidays into elaborate theatrical improvisations. Her ties to the film world led her to design stunning costumes for Luchino Visconti, while her talent as a writer inspired Federico Fellini during the early drafts of La Dolce Vita. She shared a profound intellectual bond with the tormented souls of Pier Paolo Pasolini and Anna Magnani, with whom she also shared a love for Persian cats.

Leonor Fini, Parigi, 1965. Courtesy ©Leonor Fini Estate, Paris

The major retrospective at Palazzo Reale delves into every facet of this extraordinary artist’s passionate life. The exhibition, designed by PANSTUDIO, unfolds through nine thematic sections, immersing visitors in Fini’s kaleidoscopic world—of intense colors, hypnotic gazes, and arcane symbolism. From sensual portraits to erotic drawings, from theatrical sets to rare book illustrations, each work is a secret doorway into a realm where reality and dreams blend in a mirror game. “Then comes Leonor. Windows become light, cobwebs turn into precious curtains of clouds and stars, dry branches become lit candelabras, and the evening becomes a grand occasion; because Leonor… unites two graces: childhood and majesty.”
(Elsa Morante, da L’amata. Lettere di e a Elsa Morante).

Info:

Io sono Leonor Fini
Curated by Tere Arcq e Carlos Martín
Palazzo Reale, Piazza del Duomo, 12, Milan
26/02 – 22/06/2025
www.palazzorealemilano.it

Giulia Russo

Giulia Russo is an author and digital editorial assistant for Juliet, with whom she has collaborated since 2017. More recently she has been a contributing editor on cultural themes for various magazines, with critical insights, dedicated to emerging artists and the new frontiers of contemporaneity. Graduated in Art History at La Sapienza University of Rome, she specialized in Visual Cultures and curatorial practices at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. Based in Milan, with some fleeting forays into Tiber, she loves listening to stories that she occasionally rewrites