During my visit to the Museum of Modern Arts (MoMA) a
few years ago, I was impressed by Salvador Dalí's The
Persistence of Memory: the
molten pocket watch that represents eternity, the bizarre colors... It
was Dalí s characteristic style to manipulate objects to depict
his thoughts and feelings. As viewers, we are entranced into spending minutes,
even hours, interpreting his artwork.
Salvador Dalí was born in Figueres, Spain on May 11,
1904. He showed his gift in drawing at an early age, and was accepted
by the Academy of San Fernando, the famous art school in Madrid, at age 17.
In the Academy, Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams, and
the ongoing Surrealism movement in Paris, which advocated for subjective
depictions in thought and sensation, inspired Dali. Dalí also
employed what he jokingly called ‘a spontaneous method of irrational associations.’ In
his later artworks, he incorporated atomic and micro compositions after the
emergence of the nuclear science field. Dalí's health condition
deteriorated after his wife's sudden death and he passed away in 1989.
Salvador Dalí was a gifted draftsman, and his
works include drawings, sculptures, films, etc. He also published books and
opened the Dali Salvador Museum. As a painter, he was famous for his eccentric
style, his novel composition, and double images, which were recognized as
paranoiac by some people. However, Dali drew with a conscious and selective
mind. As Dali wittily commented, “The only difference between myself and a
madman is that I am not mad.”
Study
for Ana Maria Sewing, pencil on paper, 1926 (up)
Study
for Girl Sewing, pencil and ink on paper, 1926 (down)
Dalí was more
conscious of realism in these early study drawings of sewing girls. In Study
for Ana Maria Sewing, Dalí concentrated on the composition of
light and shadow on the girl's face, and he simplified other parts of his work.
The base lines of the space are still visible. In the Study for Girl
Sewing, the base lines that radiate from the center of the painting
(window) are apparent. Viewers can also see the rough approximation of the
girl's arms, legs as rectangular boxes, and fists as spheres. Both study
drawings used the line drawings, the contour approximations, and the baselines
in order to give himself a better understanding of the final drawing.
Invisible
Sleeping Woman, Horse, Lion, etc. 1930
on canvas (up)
Scan from the book Salvador
Dali: the early years (down)
This surrealistic oil
painting is one of Dalí s early experimental works of multifaceted
images and negative space, created after his return from Paris in 1930. His
drawing at the time starts to show his preference of rich colors and solid
contour lines that contributes to a surreal feeling. The bizarre object in the
center is one image that can be interpreted into many images-it is a
lion/horse, a group of humans, and a sleeping woman. If the viewer follows the
larger contour, the image of a lion or a horse appears. However, if observed
from the other end, it becomes a sleeping woman. If the contours are viewed
separately, a group of standing humans appears out of the artistic mass. There
are two tiny figures on the left of the horse torso. Dalí consciously merged together
many images (as shown in the lower scan) and then created
a multifaceted negative space. The small variance in color
around the image mass as well as the lack of dense shadows helps to conceive
more interpretable images. These merging’s are demonstrated in the black
and white negative space drawing that is only composed of a simple object and white
background.
Telephone in a Dish with Three Grilled Sardines at the End of September', oil on canvas (1939)
This surrealistic
painting in 1939 is metaphorical in every sense. In contrast with the
surrealistic drawing style in Invisible Sleeping Woman, Horse, Lion,
etc., this oil painting
demonstrate more maturity. At the time of the work, Dalí and his wife
left Spain due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil
War. Dalí was also expelled from the Surrealist Group due
to political reasons. This painting is intriguing at first look because of the
uncommon composition of objects. There is a plate on the front of the wooden
table, with a telephone and Sardine fish in it. In the background, the shadow
from the plate creates two figures that seem to be fleeing off into the
distance, further from the plate and our observance. They are submersed into
the dark and brooding background. The telephone in the plate is related to the
1938 telephone conversations between Adolf Hitler and British Prime Minister
Sir Chamberlain, who used the appeasement policy to avoid wars. The Sardine fish
that is fallen apart, and the dark and depressive scenery are symbolizations
of a vulnerable Spain at the outbreak of wars. From the shadow, viewers can
tell that there are actually two light sources: one comes from the front which
highlights the telephone and the plate of fish; another leaks from the
background. It seems as if wars were forcing people like the Dalí couple out of
Spain.
The drawings that I
chose from Dali's works from 1926 to 1939 show changes from his early drawing
style to his final style: From realism to surrealism, then to a surrealism profuse
in metaphors and interpretation. The three groups of drawings also
represent a concise study drawing, a negative space/double image, and meaningful
art symbols, all of which I wish to learn from our drawing practice.
Sources:
Wash, Kenneth: Salvador Dalí, Masterpieces
from the Collection of the Salvador Dalí Museum (NY: Harry
N. Abrams Inc.) 1996
Andreose, Mario: Dalí (NY:
Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.) 2004
Raeburn, Michael
(ed.): Salvador Dalí: the early years (NY: Thames and
Hudson Inc.) 1994
Image Sources:
Telephone
in a Dish with Three Grilled Sardines at the End of September':
Invisible
Sleeping Woman, Horse, Lion, etc. 1930 on
cavas
(Scan see
resources)
Study
for Ana Maria Sewing, pencil on paper, 1926
Study
for Girl Sewing, pencil and ink on paper, 1926
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