Les
Tragediennes
or LAdieu
(The Goodbye) or Le
Depart (The Departure), oil
on board, 45 x 64, was painted
for Finis first solo exhibition at
the Galerie Jacques Bonjean in Paris during
November and December of 1932. This was
a period of transition for Fini as she searched
for her own visual voice.
At this time, the most successful living
artist was Pablo Picasso. Particularly noting
the lower extremities of the woman seated
at left one can see his influence on Fini.
The colors are from Picassos Blue
and Pink periods and the loose laying of
the paint echoes some of the more accessible
of his works. I have been known to refer
to the painting as being from her Picasso
Period.
As an aside,
apropos to Picasso, Julien Levy, the American
art dealer who introduced Surrealism to
the United States, tells a story in his
autobiography of something that happened
when he was introduced by Fini to Picasso.
At a sidewalk cafe where they met, Picasso,
while explaining his thoughts on putting
two eyes on one side of a profile, drew
on a paper napkin. Fini took it from Picassos
hand; looked and crumpled it up with the
eloquent phrase, Pourqoi tu toujours
fait le même merde? (Why
do you always do the same crap?).
She proceeded to fling it into the gutter.
According to Levy, as much as he wanted
to, he refrained from rescuing it. Picassos
reaction is not noted in Levys telling
of the tale. One would hope he laughed.
|