Raphaelesque Head Exploding, 1951
by Salvador Dalí (1904/1989)
This painting pulls at me. I am not sure why. I researched what it was suppose to be about and it gave the image another layer of meaning, but does not explain why I am drawn to this. Perhaps it is enough that the fragmentation and colors evolve and pull me into the visual vortex.
Following the atomic explosion over Hiroshima in 1945, Dalí painted a number of fragmented heads and figures. Some of the shapes that form the head in this painting are solid and phallic shaped - inspired by rhinoceros horns. The upper area of the painting, with the halo and brown clouds resembles photographs of atomic explosions. The female face, with its tender expression and thin halo, is recognisable as the face of a Madonna by Raphael. Dalí was a great admirer of Old Master paintings. The skull section in this work is based upon the inside of the dome of the Pantheon building in Rome.
Dali imagines that protons and neutrons (and consequently the atom) are angelic elements because in the celestial bodies, he explains, "there are residues of substances; it is for this reason that certain beings appear to me so close to angels such as Raphael. Raphael's temperature is like that almost chilly air of spring, which in turn is exactly that of the Virgin and of the rose." And he adds solemnly, "I need an ideal of hyperaesthetic purity. More and more I am preoccupied by a idea of chastity. For me, it is an essential condition of the spiritual life."
This painting reflects Salvador Dali's fascination with the ancients. Immediately after the fall of the Roman Empire the building was seized by the church and converted into a place of christian worship. The statues of Roman Gods were removed and frescoes and crosses erected in their place. Many saints and patrons of the arts are buried here including the renaissance artists Donatello and Raphael. One can see the modern atomic age exploding/spiraling downward.
Salvador Dali Art Gallery
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Comments: 14
His stuff if so dreamlike and yet also so solidly of the real world. I never interpreted his stuff as surreal, even though he was a surrealist. I always have looked at it as multi textural and multi emotional.
I hadn't seen this one, but I really like it.
Thanks Anita.
Magi
He gives a much deeper meaning to anything mundane. His Horseman of Death is one of my favourites.
thanks for sharing this, anita!
Art touches each of us on a personal level.
Dali, I love his stuff. In St. Petersburg FL. there is a Dali Museum and it is worth the visit. WOW.
Uh huh.
Thanks for the post, it is an arresting, beautiful and disturbing work.
Nancy and Patrick ... Dali and art ... not always dark and often whimsical.
Have you visited the website "Livio De Marchi Virtual Museum" at http://www.liviodemarchi.com/
Reminds me of Dali.
As Perry said, always another question.
Does anyone know what Dali's rhinercerous bones symbolize?
A very oddly wonderful and wonderfully odd duck was Sal.
I'd never seen this piece before, but it is stunning. Thanks for contributing to my on-going education in visual art.