The Persistence Of Salvador Dali

The Persistence of Salvador Dali

Carol Clark

Art 205 Unit 5 IP 1

American Intercontinental University

August 9, 2006

Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dali Domenech was born on May 11, 1904 in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain. His father was a middle class lawyer and notary, and a strict disciplinarian. His mother encouraged his drawing, and countered his father's temper with her loving kindness. Dali had an older brother who died before he was born, and a younger sister. He studied art in Madrid and Barcelona before moving to Paris in the late 1920's, where he discovered Sigmund Freud's writings and joined the Surrealist artist group. The Surrealist movement was developed in the post WWI years as a revolt against the massive destruction of war. In the 1920's, surrealism came to stand for a revolt against society and the "norm". Almost as soon as it came into being, the movement began to turn more towards the support of communism. During the 1930's Dali developed Ð''paranoia critical' which is a method he used to process self induced hallucinations. This process led to what is known today as his greatest works of art (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2006).

In 1939, the First World War had begun, with Hitler's army invading Poland (History channel (2006). It was during this year that Dali completed a decidedly Surrealist painting titled "The Enigma of Hitler". This work was composed as a tribute to celebrate the life of this man. Subsequently, Dali's fascination with Hitler and Fascism was ultimately a deciding factor in his expulsion from the Surrealist group. The main focal point of this piece is a decaying olive branch, which cradles a telephone receiver dripping blood and tears. Perhaps this is meant to signify the death of hope. The mouthpiece is representational of a lobster claw, symbolizing the dangers of the oncoming war. There is a plate lying in the foreground, containing a photograph of Adolf Hitler, boiled beans, and what appears to be a wilted rose. Neville Chamberlain's umbrella hangs from the branch also, and a bat is hovering on the edge of the plate near the umbrella. As Dali tells it, "Chamberlain's umbrella appeared in this painting in a sinister light, made evident by the bat, and it struck me when I painted it as a thing of enormous anguish" (Leon Degrelle, 1994). A nurse, no doubt posed by Gala, is standing in the mid-ground next to a small shoreline. In the background, one can see a few tiny figures dotting the insignificant shoreline, perhaps as witnesses to a dying peace. The mountainous seascape is reminiscent of Dali's home land of Catalonia. The composition of this work is pyramidal, and Dali's use of chiaroscuro can easily be seen here, though his colors are subdued hues of gray, red and yellow.

In 1949, Dali and his wife, Gala moved back to a Franco ruled Catalonia. This drew much criticism from other artists (Wikipedia, 2006). In 1950, Dali painted "The Madonna of Port Lligat" for the second time. This painting is representative of the beginning of his Classic Period, though some of the surrealist style is still evident within the artist's work. This composition holds a religious symbolism for Dali. Madonna of Port Lligat Features a portrayal of the Holy Virgin, posed by Gala, with the Christ Child seated on her lap. Both figures have their heads bowed, as if in prayer. Madonna has her hands folded above the child's head. The torsos of Mother and child are depicted as cutout frames. The child is framed inside the mother's torso, and what appears to be a piece of broken bread rests within his frame, perhaps signifying His body, broken in sacrifice later in life. The boy's right leg is folded behind the left knee. His left hand rests on a book, perhaps the Bible, and his right hand is holding a ball. A dissected wood and stone faÐ"§ade archway surrounds Mother and child. There is a cockleshell in the top middle of the arch, with an egg hanging from a fine thread, symbolic of fertility, perhaps depicting the moon. Suspended from the center right of the archway is what appears to be rotting flesh, in the shape of a human torso. This is coincidental with Dali's obsession with necrophilia. There also appears to be a breadbasket and a conch shell floating near the center left piece of the arch. The base of this archway appears to be an altar. The altar holds a fish, a bowl, parchment, a rose, a twig, and what appears to be a small flower, among other various unidentifiable objects. The front of the altar is recessed on both sides, with a rhinoceros in one side, and what looks to be some sort of skeletal structure in the other. In the middle of the faÐ"§ade, there is a cross that looks as if carved from the wood itself. In the background, there are figures of four angels, also posed for by Gala. They are portrayed as standing on the beach of Port Lligat, Catalonia, Spain. The seascape depicts floating mountains, and the skies seem to be a conflict of sunlight and storm clouds. This composition is asymmetrical, and pyramidal in structure. The center of focus is the Madonna and Child. Dali's mastery of chiaroscuro gives the illusion of great depth in this painting, while his use of sfumato blends his background