La gourmandise 1929

Léonor Fini made this painting, La gourmandise, with oils, and well, what a title! It’s a feast for the eyes, even though the palette is muted, almost milky. I’m really drawn to how she handles the paint. It’s smooth, with delicate brushwork that gives everything a soft, dreamy quality. Look at the way she renders the skin—it’s luminous, with subtle gradations of tone that make it feel almost alive. Then there are the sweets! Those little cakes and candies are painted with such care, you can almost taste them. The rose, too, has a cool, ethereal quality, offering a strange contrast to the gourmand theme of the piece. Fini reminds me of Paula Rego, both unafraid to explore the darker, more unsettling aspects of desire and the female experience. "La gourmandise" offers a space of imagination, where pleasure and self-possession intertwine.