Surrealism –Salvador Dali

In this Expressive Activity Essay I will be discussing two paintings of the surrealist Salvador Dali.  Salvador Dali was born in 1904 in the city of Catatonia.  He was educated at the school of fine arts in Madrid.

Surrealism spawned from Dadism which was a result of the suspicion of normal values caused by the desecration of the First World War.

The unification of the irrational world of dream and the unconscious reality is the definition of Surrealism.

Dali’s paintings from 1929 onwards depict dream imaginary and everyday objects in unexpected forms, such as the famous – “Persistence Of Memory” which was painted in 1939.

"Dali's paintings are characterised by meticulous draftmanship and realistic details, with brilliant colours  heightened by transparent glazes" - As quoted by Microsoft Encarta.

The subject matter of the painting seems almost photographic the technique used creates a very carefully painted, detailed picture.  Light in the painting is very intense with dark, sharp shadows.  And the use of sharp, clear detail helps the painting to appear very realistic. 

Dali uses ordinary obhects and distorts them to look extraordinary.  This helps create a world of irrational dream.

The ordinary and extraordinary are related in surrealism because they are merged into each other to create a fantasy, the painting seems illogical as melting watches would, but they are literally meant to symbolise the irrelevance of time.

When Dali lived abroad he felt that time had little maybe no relevance for him, so he spent it painting, eating making and love and anything else he pleased.  The summer days seemed to fly by without any indication of having past.  This is one of the main reasons why he painted the picture – “The Persistence of Memory”.

"Raphaelesque Head Exploding"

This painting is yet another piece of Dali’s work which combines imaginary and references to facial’s of his life in whole.

The painting refers to both the renaissance painting Raphael and Rome.  The dome that is shown in the painting is the pantheon in Rome, built in the time of the roman empire.  It is technically brilliant and is an important characteristic of all of Dali’s work.

Dali’s fascination with the atomic structure, a return to the influence of the renaissance, and his religious background all come together in this painting.

The painting highlights the use of similar objects in unusual contexts.  Also the bringing together of the characteristics of one object to another, here in the quality of streamers or flags, to a famous head.

A heightened sense of realism – this mixing of the familiar gives this painting a new and unusual meaning.

I like these paintings in particular because I find the style they are painted in is very informative.  This style of painting appeals to me as it lets you delve deeper into the painters thoughts and emotions because their dreams and imagination and fantasy are all captured.  It is as if you are looking right into the painters head watching what is going on.  This is good because you know more about the reasons why the painting is what it is. 

It is a break from the norm and is a lot more fun.