Sphinx pour David Barrett

Mediums: oil, tempera, canvas.
Location: The Gallery N. Zuckerman CFM, Paris (France).

Art historian W. Chadwick remarked, “Leonor Fini considers a woman to be a sorceress and priestess, beautiful and sovereign.” Taking the form of the Sphinx, she uses all the forces that were lost by a woman with the end of matriarchy. The strict and even stern face of a hybrid on a flaming background creates a charged atmosphere – this is what Fini called the “sleep mechanism”. David Barrett, her American friend, whose name she used in the title of this painting, was one of the most sought-after decorators in New York and a true connoisseur of the beautiful; this iconic Sphinx became a part of his personal exquisite collection of works of art.