Leonor Fini (1908-1996) was an Argentine surrealist painter. She was born in Buenos Aires to an Italian mother and an Argentine father, who left the family, when she was still very young. She grew up in Trieste, then went to Paris to become a painter. There, she became acquainted with Paul Eluard, Max Ernst, Georges Bataille, Henri Cartier-Bresson, AndrĂ© Pieyre de Mandiargues, and Salvador DalĂ. She painted portraits, e.g. of Jean Genet, Anna Magnani, Jacques Audiberti, Alida Valli, and Suzanne Flon. She also designed costumes and decorations for theater. Many of her later paintings deal with erotic phantasies and death.
In the 1970s, she wrote three novels and became friends with Jean Cocteau, Giorgio de Chirico, and Alberto Moravia.
