165 - FINI (Leonor) (1908–1996).

FINI (Leonor) (1908–1996). French surrealist painter, lithographer, theater set designer, and writer of Italian origin. A unique figure in Surrealism, closely connected to the literary and artistic circles of her time.LONG AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED “Leonor” TO PIERRE BESSE. No place, no date [Nonza, Corsica, circa 1960]. 6 folio pages. A VERY LONG AND ENTERTAINING LETTER RECOUNTING AN ARTISTIC DISPUTE, HER FRIENDS, STANISLAO LEPRI, KOT JELENSKI, AND THE WHIMSICAL LIFE OF HER CIRCLE IN CORSICA. Leonor Fini apologizes to her correspondent for her silence, explaining that all her energy is absorbed by a matter involving a certain Fabrizio, which is taking on excessive proportions and causing violent quarrels among her circle. “I’m sorry for writing so little or not at all, because all my energy for letter-writing is being drained by the Fabrizio affair (Fabritius would be better), which Kot may have vaguely mentioned to you. The affair is becoming as imposing as a well-fed wild boar, and it has a Pirandellian air to it—the versions of the story are all over the place.” With her usual frankness, she recounts the intrigues and rivalries pitting several figures against one another, notably Elsa, Sergio, and Bill, about whom she is particularly skeptical: “My letters are harsh (and I now find it as entertaining as a detective story) toward everyone, and the color reproductions of Bill’s paintings that Kot has just brought make me doubt his genius.” The second part of the letter offers a particularly vivid account of the artist’s daily life in Corsica, surrounded by her loved ones, her animals, and her extravagant parties. She rejoices at the return of Kot—Konstanty Aleksander Jeleński, her partner—and then describes a grand party held in the cloister of the convent where she is staying, decorated with garlands of roses, wreaths, and lanterns. She mentions several guests, notably Lidia, Hector, and Stanislao Lepri—her partner and a painter—as well as the cats taking part in this unusual scene: “Lepri, dressed in dark purple but looking a bit flamboyant with a Ku Klux Klan hat, and the cats (three of ours, four from the convent) were walking on their hind legs (perhaps in honor of a gigantic lobster). ” She concludes with a more intimate account of her daily life, between renovating the convent, meals prepared with her friends, and the return of tranquility after a period of insomnia: “All month long I’d been suffering from insomnia (nerves, the moon, Kot’s absence)—since Kot arrived, I’ve been sleeping like a porcupine in winter. ” A beautiful letter, particularly representative of Leonor Fini’s exuberant, ironic, and nonconformist personality. It offers a vivid account of her artistic and literary circle, her relationships with Stanislao Lepri and Kot Jeleński, as well as the atmosphere of her stays in Corsica. A few creases and wrinkles from normal handling.