Cariatide délivrée 1986

Léonor Fini painted this dream-like scenario with oils, where we see pale figures emerging from a dark, atmospheric ground. The brushwork is really delicate, especially on the draped fabric—it's almost like she's capturing light itself! I can imagine Fini in her studio, carefully layering these translucent glazes, building up the forms with such precision. What was she thinking as she depicted this strange scene? Is she critiquing the very idea of the caryatid, a support column in the form of a woman? Is she showing the moment before or after its deliverance? Fini's interest in the surreal and the theatrical reminds me a bit of other painters who embraced fantasy, like Remedios Varo or Dorothea Tanning. Artists are always in conversation with each other, whether they know it or not. They take cues and push back, and, in the process, come up with something completely their own!