"Surrealism is me!" - said Salvador Dali about himself. His paintings are not forgotten, not transmitted, beautiful, stunning, unrealistic and dreamy. He was called a genius, a madman, an eccentric and henpecked. In many respects, he owed his creativity to his indomitable muse with Russian roots - the beautiful Gala, which he depicted on many of his canvases. Such was the great Salvador Dali.
The best and famous paintings of Salvador Dali
1
Female figure by the window (1925)
During his studies at the Royal Academy, which he never graduated from, Dali creates the stunning canvas “Female Figure by the Window”. The model was the sister of the artist Anna Maria. This is the most significant work of the period, made in the style of realism. You can see the influence on the author of the works of famous realists of the late XIX - early XX centuries.
A woman standing with her back to the viewer peers into the endless expanse of the sea. The play of light and shadow perfectly conveys the forms of the female body, and the landscape outside the window and the interior of the room seem to exist by themselves in various realities. The unique manner of the author is already becoming inimitable. This is Dali's first masterpiece.
2
Persistence of Memory (1931)
Surrealism is a glove thrown to logic. It causes an indescribable sensation. Dali completely devoted his creative life to this trend in painting. And everyone who at least somehow tried to explain the paintings of Dali suffered a fiasco, because it is practically impossible to explain the content, motives and feelings of the artist.
For example, Dali said that the painting "Flowing Clock" was born after he saw melting cheese on a hot toast. He tried to portray the nonlinearity of time, its fluidity and irrevocability. While painting, Dali complained of a headache, and it was displayed on the canvas in the form of a sleeping head. The brown coloring of the work is very pessimistic. Thick shadows from objects speak of approaching twilight. The artist pays a lot of attention to various details, and writes them out accurately, despite the miniature size of the canvas (24 × 33 cm). It was this miniature painting that became the most famous among Dali's masterpieces. He loved this work, spoke a lot about it and was very proud of it. Gala talked about this canvas, that having seen it at least once, you will not forget it anymore.
3
Soft Design with Boiled Beans (1936)
The painting has a broader title, Soft Composition with Boiled Beans: A Premonition of Civil War. She appeared just before the start of civil strife in Spain. Despite the fact that Dali was a supporter of Franco’s policies, his work reflects the cruelty and ruthlessness of future changes.
The picture depicts humanoid figures fighting each other with the likeness of arms and legs. There is wild pain on the face of one figure, the other has twisted hands. The ominous picture implies the struggle of the irreconcilable internal forces of Spain.
Below the figures, boiled beans are scattered, resembling grave worms with their outlines. Horror, chaos and death are coming to Spain.
4
Giraffe on Fire (1937)
This picture is known to many, as its visual images are so unrealistic, as if they came from a long painful dream. The day is drawing to a close, mysterious female figures, consisting of drawers, appear against the sunset. Their arms and backs are supported by sticks. The skin was torn off the hands of the figures, and the terrible crimson flesh frightens the viewer. A blazing giraffe is visible in the distance.
All these hallucinations are tension, fear and emotions of Dali. By nature, he was an introvert and avoided the external influence of other people, but was very sensitive. This picture conveys a sense of impending chaos and horror.
5
Sleep (1937)
Salvador Dali confirms his title of surrealist with this painting. Only paranoid visions can be of such strength to give an impetus to the creation of such a canvas. The painting depicts a huge shapeless sleeping head resembling an empty bag, which is supported by many thin thin supports. Even the swollen eyelids try to raise the props. The head is in a blue endless space, which enhances the unreality of what is happening. Even a small dog, born of a dream, is depicted away from the head and needs support.
This painting Dali painted under the influence of his dreams, in which he was trying to forget.
6
Metamorphoses of Narcissus (1937)
The surrealistic canvas “Metamorphoses of the Daffodil” was written by the impression of a conversation between two fishermen that Dali accidentally heard while traveling in Italy with his wife Gala. Men vigorously discussed their acquaintance, who adored looking in the mirror. This amused the fishermen, and they called him no less than an eccentric “with a bulb in his head,” that is, slightly sick on his head. In ancient Greek mythology, Narcissus was just a narcissistic type, which the gods turned into a flower for this. And daffodils are bulbous plants. This whole plot was embodied on the canvas of Dali.
In the foreground of the painting is a hand gripping an egg from which a daffodil flower grows. And from the left, a man squatting and admiring his reflection, as if repeating the shape of a hand with an egg. This reflection is repeated at the top of the mountain. By the way, on most-beauty.ru you can look at photos of the most beautiful varieties of daffodils.
7
The face of war (1940)
Dali met the beginning of the war in Europe and was immediately seized by the horror of upcoming events. The normal life is over, and Dali and his wife hurriedly leave Europe. The New World welcomed Dali with open arms, and the eight years he spent in the USA made him a real world celebrity.
“The face of war” is a real horror and the impression of the bloodthirstiness of war. This painting Dali began to write directly on the ship. It was the colossal events that prompted the master to urgent work. He was impatient to throw out his emotions on the canvas.
This is one of the few works of the artist, which clearly speaks of his thoughts and state of mind. The meaning of this picture is accessible to everyone, because it depicts a dead head, eye sockets, and whose mouth is filled with skulls. This is Moloch, mercilessly and senselessly devouring people. The atmosphere of the picture - bloody horror and death is depressed. This picture is a real cry, a warning to mankind, a foreboding impending catastrophe for the whole world.
8
Basket with bread (1945)
The artist marked the end of the war with his simplest and most mysterious painting - an ordinary still life depicting a basket of bread against a dark background. Bread in Dali’s paintings was a frequent character, and the artist’s attitude to this product was always warm and respectful. This picture speaks of the end of suffering, death, hunger. The reality of the texture is amazing. You can watch for hours the weaving of vines in a basket and the cracks in the crust of bread. But, despite the realism, the picture completely conveys the "incorrigibility" of the author. The curved perspective and the “hovering” of the basket in space is the true handwriting of the genius of surrealism.
🥐 On our site most-beauty.ru you can also get acquainted with the wonderful masterpieces of delicious yeast pastries from around the world.
9
Atomic Leda (1949)
The year 1945 was marked not only by the end of World War II, but also by a significant event - the explosion of atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Salvador Dali was struck by this event and especially by the power of the atomic reaction. The very physics of atoms interested the artist so much that he found a similarity between atoms and himself. Being an autistic person, he did not tolerate contact with other people besides his beloved Gala. So atoms never touch each other, but are constantly repelled from one another. According to this principle, the composition of "Atomic Ice" is built. In it, nothing is in contact with each other.
In the image of Leda, the wife of the Spartan king, who was seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan, the beautiful Gala appears. She, as it were, personifies the mother of Dali and his deceased brother (Castor and Polidevka).
10
Madonna of Port Lligat (1949)
Atheist Salvador Dali before the war did not believe in any deities, but after the war he became a true Catholic. His faith strongly affected creativity. The picture depicting the Virgin Mary with the baby Christ is confirmation of this. His works on the gospel are inconceivably combined both by mysticism and the power of faith. "Madonna" was written in two versions. Pope Pius XII received the first version of the painting from Dali.
11
Christ of St. John of the Cross (1952)
This picture is filled with a deep sense of faith and mysticism. Inspired by a 16th-century drawing by St. John of the Cross, Dali portrayed his vision of the crucifixion. The viewer looks at the cross from above, as it were, from the side of God the Father. The artist himself explained his painting, that after two visions he clearly formed the composition and plot of the painting. At first, after the first vision, he intended to portray Christ in a crown of thorns and with blood, which turns into red carnations, but, after the second vision, in which it was said that there is little Christ, but a lot of blood, Dali removed all the bloody attributes.
12
The Last Supper (1955)
A true and temperamental Spanish Catholic, Dali used the texts of the Gospel to recreate new ideas, forms and new content in his canvases. The painting "The Last Supper" is visually similar to a fresco, its composition is strictly symmetrical. The same poses of Christ and his disciples, the same gestures, but this canvas has a completely different impression. In front of the viewer, an interior with a glass roof and walls was recreated, more likely similar to the building of the future. Behind the huge windows is a lifeless landscape, over which a divine embrace is spread. The central figure of Christ is very lively, despite the fact that it is transparent and the landscape is visible through it. In contrast to the transparency and essence of Christ filled with the Holy Spirit, his disciples are depicted by the most ordinary people. They bowed their heads as they listened to the sermon. With hand gestures, Christ allegedly tells the viewer that He is the son of God.
13
“The Crucifixion, or Hypercubic Body” (1955)
Salvador Dali in the last years of his life became a very religious person and he tried to realize his ideas in paintings on biblical themes. The theme of the crucifixion in his work Dali used several times, but the most impressive was called "Hypercubic body." Dali depicts Christ crucified not on the cross, but on a hypercube. A curved body with a protruding chest is facing heaven. This emphasizes the suffering and pain of Christ. Traditionally, the classics of the European art school depicted next to Christ and other characters. Imitating them, Dali placed on the canvas his wife Gala, who looks at the crucifix, as if at a vision.
Afterword
The painting "Galatea with Spheres" 1952
The great Salvador Dali left the world in 1989, having survived his muse and beloved wife Gala only for several years. This eccentric man was known as an eccentric. Many did not like him, many criticized him, but no one dared to deny the genius of this artist, who created a unique style in painting. The editors of most-beauty.ru hope that you liked our article and expect feedback from you in the comments.