we-love-arts.com

Surrealism, born in the 1920’s, was parented by the Dada movement that emerged in Paris during War World I.  Inspired by visual art and writings, Surrealism was a cultural movement that merged schools of thought on philosophy, social theory and politics.  Salvador Dali was a eccentric surrealist who contributed artistically to the movement.

Temptation of Saint Anthony
A work from the latter period of his life, Dali made claims that he had converted to mysticism.  The Atomic era influenced his thinking and is evident in this painting.  A depiction of a naked Antonius stands against a charging horse with elongated legs that defy the law of gravity.  Saint Anthony attempts to steel himself against earthy temptations.  Floating elephants move towards the saint symbolizing lust and greed.

Portrait of Picasso
Dali integrated many elements that spoke to the origins of Picasso.  In this painting, the bust of Picasso is mounted on a  pedestal, symbolizing consecration.  A large rock sits on Picasso’s head to symbolize the responsibility and influence of his work.  Picasso’s face is a goat hoof and the headdress of the Greco-Iberian marble bust the Lady of Elche paying tribute to Picasso’s origins.  

Self-Portrait with Fried Bacon Surrealism Statue
An ode to Dali’s “soul’s glove”, not the soul or the inner self, this self-portrait portrays his face with ants and fried bacon.  It was a work painted during Dali’s eight-year-exile in the United States  He left his home in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.  During this time he painted from the inside out, and it appeared that he reversed  his “paranoid-critical method.”  This painting symbolizes the painter giving himself up as food, and giving the era the most “delicious delicacies.”

Geopolitical Child Watches Birth of New Human
In this work Dali creates a fiery Earth, a new human is born and emerges from a plastic egg while a child watches seeking the comfort of its mother; it symbolizes new order, a new beginning and a perfect world. 

Poetry of America Cosmic Athletes
Challenging man to think about the dangers of conflicts within the modern world, this painting symbolizes the new human with a golden man balancing an egg on his finger.  The striking imagery again emphasizes Dali’s paranoid-critical method, a subconscious association of those things that are not related in the real world.

Burning Giraffe Woman with Drawers
This painting signifies Dali’s internal struggles with his country during the period of time he was in the U.S. amidst the Spanish Civil War.  Open drawers line the leg of a slender blue woman with outstretched arms, believed to represent the “open drawers” of man’s subconscious. 

Dream Caused Flight of a Bee
This painting depicts Dali’s wife, Gala unclothed and asleep.  With long and thin legs, an elephant walks across the sea’s horizon carrying an obelisk.  Near Gala, two water drops and a small pomegranate float.  Above a larger pomegranate, emerges a fish that holds a tiger in its mouth from which another tiger comes out.  Ahead of the second tiger, a rifle’s bayonet touches the women’s right arm.  The work shows the influence of Freud’s theories on the meanings of dreams and some believe is an interpretation of the Theory of Evolution.