Other works by Dalì

1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48

Figure on the rocks 1926

oil on wood panel
27.3 x 40.6 cm

The Salvador Dalí Museum, St Petersburg, Florida

1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48
Eucharistic still life 1952
oil on canvas
54.6 x 87.0 cm

1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48
Daddy Longlegs of the evening – Hope! 1940
oil on canvas
40.6 x 50.8 cm

1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48
Portrait of the cellist Ricard Pichot 1920
oil on canvas
61.5 x 50.0 cm

1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48
Archeological reminiscence of Millet's Angelus (c. 1934)
oil on wood panel
31.8 x 39.4 cm

1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48
Portrait of my sister 1925
oil on canvas
92.0 x 65.0 cm

1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48
Memory of the child-woman 1932
oil on canvas
99.1 x 120.0 cm

1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48
Set design for the film Spellbound.
Eyes and staircase (c. 1945)
oil and gouache on composition board
88.8 x 113.1 cm

1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48
Anthropomorphic bread 1932
oil on canvas
24.0 x 16.5 cm

Dada and Surrealism

Dada and Surrealism

The Dada movement originated from Western Europe and was both an artistic and literary movement that sought the discovery and exploration of a new and “authentic” reality through rebellion against, and ultimately, the abolition of traditional culture and aesthetic forms. It flourished from 1916 to 1923.

The Surrealism movement was primarily a spin-off of the earlier Dada and developed in Europe between World Wars I and II and was widely considered as a reaction to the horrors committed in the wars, which many thought was a failure of rational thought. Surrealism produced works that challenged everything that was reasonable and rational with its juxtaposition of unlikely and often jarring image. Surrealists aimed to merge images of the unconscious with those of the conscious mind. As the movement became more established, a stronger emphasis on positive expression was made.

Dalí

Dalí once described surrealism as “…destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.”

He joined the Surrealist movement in 1929, after receiving an invitation from André Breton, and soon Dalí quickly established himself as one of its leading artists. He spent a great deal of time in France and formed a large network of contacts and friendships with many Parisian artists and wealthy patrons. It is in this period that Dalí begins to show increasing confidence in his own style. His works have recurring themes of ants, hands, clocks and watches, crutches, lobsters, and bread.

Welcome

Hello and welcome.

The blog will be about some art history, focusing mainly on art movements between 19th and 20th centuries. The main audience will be art students and enthusiasts, people doing research on art history and major movements and anyone who might be interested in art in general.

It's a big jump in but since I'm going over to a Salvador Dali exhibition later this evening, I thought it best to write the next post on Surrealism, Dali and his contribution to the movement.

The exhibition is at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). A lot of information about the exhibition and Dali can be found on their website here.