156 - FINI (Eleonor, known as Leonor) (1908–1996).

FINI (Eleonor, known as Leonor) (1908–1996). French Surrealist painter, lithographer, theater set designer, and writer of Italian origin. A major figure in Surrealism, Leonor Fini developed a unique universe blending dreamlike imagery, eroticism, metamorphoses, and enigmatic female figures. Her work notably explores the relationships between desire, femininity, and the unconscious.Autograph letter signed “Leonor” to Pierre Besse. Nonza (Corsica), August 5, 1960. 5 folio-sized pages, in red ink, with a few annotations in a different ink. The original autograph envelope is preserved; it was stamped and postmarked in Nonza on August 6, 1960. The envelope has tears and missing sections; the pages show creases and wrinkles. A remarkable, intimate letter in which Leonor Fini offers a lengthy psychoanalytic interpretation of a dream her correspondent had, addressing sexuality, impotence, femininity, and feelings of guilt with striking candor. The artist begins by advising Pierre Besse to take a vacation, suggesting in particular that he stay in the Corsican mountains, near Vizzavona, before joining her in Nonza. She also mentions gifts from a certain Bob, news about her friends and family, and an evening spent with filmmakers who came to visit her. She mentions her partner Konstanty Jeleński, known as Kot, who is delighted to reconnect with his correspondent, and then undertakes a particularly personal analysis of her dream: “Your dream is more than clear—it’s dazzling, aside from the daytime memories you yourself recognized, which are always the means by which the subconscious expresses itself [...].” ” She then offers an overtly sexual interpretation of the dream images: “The profusion of semen is your obsession (mixed with a fear of impotence), and the rest is the perpetual guilt associated with it.” She continues by referring to the figure of Simone: “The ‘dead Simone’ represents femininity, which is definitively dead to you (hence the anxiety in the dream and the guilt).” Leonor Fini emphasizes the profoundly individual nature of the dream experience and rejects any universal interpretation: “The Dream Key is amusing but means very little—how can you expect it to be just a generalized concept? I can interpret this dream because I know you, and every dream is experienced differently by different people.” This letter offers a particularly revealing insight into Leonor Fini’s interest in the unconscious, dreams, and the mechanisms of desire—fundamental themes in her pictorial universe. Her analysis, at once spontaneous, incisive, and personal, illustrates the intellectual and sexual freedom that characterizes her personality. The presence of Konstanty Jeleński—a writer, art critic, and Leonor Fini’s longtime partner—as well as the references to her artistic and cinematic circle, further enhance the biographical significance of this correspondence. This is a highly interesting letter due to its length, its free tone, and its psychoanalytic content, which is directly related to the artist’s aesthetic and intellectual concerns.