Tête de femme c. 1980

Léonor Fini made this portrait, Tête de femme, with oil paint or pastel, in a way that feels, I don’t know, both dreamlike and precise. I can feel her there, hovering over the surface, getting close, maybe stepping back. The image emerges slowly. It is a pale face, floating out of the darkness. A bit like a photographic negative. The background is this hazy blue; the face is white, with little dabs of pink on the cheeks and lips. It’s so delicate. The dark hair is a heavy mass that almost swallows the face. It is brushed out like charcoal. I wonder if Fini felt like she was conjuring a spirit, bringing her into being with each stroke. I can see echoes of other painters here, maybe Balthus or even some of the early Renaissance portrait painters. She is in conversation with them, adding her voice to the mix. Painting is like that, an ongoing exchange across time.