LEONOR FINI (1907–1996), Poes (Dutch: Kot-Kotek), 1970s

Color lithograph on luxury Vellum paper, 59 x 46 cm within a Vienna-style canvas mat; framed in a frame measuring 87 x 72 cm
Limited edition, numbered in pencil 20/250 on the reverse;
Signed in pencil by the artist in the lower right corner
Publisher: Éditions Mermoud / Claire-Fontaine (a Franco-Swiss publishing house collaborating with the artist on print portfolios dedicated to cats)
Produced by: Atelier Desjobert Paris (the studio of Edmond and Jacques Desjobert was world-renowned for its masterful command of wash techniques (lavis) and its perfect sense of subtle color transitions).
The artist personally supervised the lithography process and approved the so-called bon à tirer (proof piece) before the series was numbered.
Cats occupied an absolutely central place in Leonor Fini’s art—the artist adored them, lived surrounded by a dozen or so cats, and regarded them as her spiritual alter egos and a recurring symbol of mythical mystery. Fini published special portfolios of lithographs and etchings dedicated to cats (e.g., the famous series *Mirror des Chats*—“Mirror of Cats”—with texts by Jacques Audibert). “Poes” is part of a series of studies of cat muzzles and busts that Fini created throughout the 1970s. Each print depicted a different cat (often one belonging to the artist herself), characterized by a distinctive expression in its eyes and a mystical pose.
Although “Poes” appears on the antiquarian market primarily as a standalone, numbered lithograph (rather than as part of a series), stylistically and thematically it is a direct part of Leonor Fini’s original series of cat portraits.