Salvador Dali Paintings - Analysis and interpretations
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Salvador Dali paintings: Analysis, interpretations, opinions  and commentaries
"...just because I don't know the meaning of my art, does not  mean it has no meaning..."  S.D.
Self-portrait ● Primer autorretrato ● Premier Auto-Portrait
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1921. Oil on cardboard, 47 x 30 cm
Dalï¿½ Museum-Theatre, Figueras, Spain
 ● This self portrait, made when Dalï¿½ was about   seventeen, shows his inner attitude and potential.
 
Person at the Window ● Figura asomada a la ventana ● Person am Fenster
Salvador Dali, 1925 - Oil on canvas, 103 x 75 cm - Museo Nacional Reina    Sofï¿½a, Madrid.
 ● Landscape, glass reflection, and a person.    The light on the back of the girl (Ana Maria, his sister), enhances one    of Dali’s favorite employed elements. The landscape behind the window is    the bay of Cadaquï¿½s, where Dalï¿½ used to stay in the summer. Garcia Lorca    kept great memories about the view from that window at the awakens, he    described his stay in Cadaquï¿½s, like wonderful, as a beautiful dream.    Salvador and Ana Maria were very close each other, particularly after    the death of their mother. Ana Maria was her only female model until    Gala replaced her in 1929. After Ana Maria in a book described her    brother in a way that he doesn’t like, Dalï¿½ painted another version of    this picture with the title “Young Virgin Buggered By Her Own Chastity” (1954).
 
Muchacha'25
Back of Girl ● Muchacha De Espalda ● Noia d' Esquena
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1925 - Oil on canvas, 103 x 73.5 cm - Museo Nacional    Reina Sofï¿½a, Madrid.
 ● Again, like in the “Person at the Window” (1925), Dalï¿½ shows his sister Ana Maria from her back. This time the    girl is seated, more relaxed; and although its face does not appear in    the image, her glance is the main idea of the painting. The same matices    of the skin and the dress of Ana Maria, are used by Dalï¿½ for the roofs    and the walls of the buildings.
 
Still Life with Moon light ● Naturaleza muerta con luz   de luna ● Stilleben im Mondlicht
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1925. Oil on canvas
Bread 1926  
Basket of Bread ● Cesta de Pan ● Corbeille de pain
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1926 - Oil on panel, 12 3/8 x 12 3/8" - The Salvador Dalï¿½   Museum (Reynolds Morse Colection), St Petersburg, Fl, USA.
 ● The quality of this painting   contributed to the international recognition of Dalï¿½. It was exposed along   with two other works in 1928 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in the third annual   International Carnegie Exhibition.
 
Woman At the Window - The Girl of Figueras ● Mujer en    una ventana - La muchacha de Figueras
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1926 - Oil on canvas - Colecciï¿½n Juan Casanelles,    Barcelona, Espaï¿½a
 ● This painting may be related to "The    Lacemaker" a masterpiece of the seventeenth-century Dutch painter Jan    Vermeers. Later, Dali will work again on this theme incorporating curves    from the rhino's horn.
 
Still Life by the Light of the Moon ● Naturaleza muerta a la luz de la luna ● Fische und Balkon
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1927. Oil on canvas, 75 x 55 1/8
Fundaciï¿½n Gala-Salvador Dalï¿½, Figueras, Spain
● Dali approached most of the well-known    painting styles. He felt great admiration for Picasso, whom he visited    in Paris, before going to the Louvre.
 
Senicitas 1927
Little Ashes - Summer Forces - The    Birth of Venus ● Cenicitas - Fuerzas de verano - El nacimiento de Venus ● Ou:forces Estivales Et Naissan
Salvador Dali, 1927 - Oil on canvas, 64 x 48 cm. - Museo Espaï¿½ol del    Arte contemporï¿½neo, Madrid.
 ● He painted this while he was    in military service, it’s a collection of memories. Regarding the flies    in the picture, he said: “…the doses of action that God uses to indicate    men the way to one of the most intricate laws of the universe”
 
Unsatisfied Desires ● Deseos insatisfechos ● Les    Desires Inassuvis
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1928 - Oil, seashells, and sand on cardboard. 76 x 62 cm    - Private Collection.
 ● Dali wanted to present this painting in the    Maragalls art gallery at Barcelona. However, it was refused due to its    contents, believing some viewers would find it offensive.
 
Imperial Monument to the Child-Woman ● Monumento imperial a la mujer-niï¿½o
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1929. Oil on canvas, 56 x 32"
Fundaciï¿½n Gala-Salvador Dalï¿½, Figueras, Spain
 ● Some of the elaborated shapes    in this painting came out from other elements. A Lyon’s head at the end    represents repressed sexual desires.
 
The Enigma of Desire: My Mother, My Mother, My Mother ● El Enigma del deseo: Mi madre, mi madre, mi madre ● L Enigma del    Desiderio ● Das Raetsel der Begierde
Salvador Dali, 1929 - Oil on panel, 30 x 52 cm - Staatsgallerie moderner    Kunst, Munich.
 ● With elements like rocks, insects, shells and    hollows; Dalï¿½ expresses complex feelings toward his mother, who was very    devoted to him. The rock with hollows, is the central element of another    painting of Dali, “Oedipus Complex” (1930). The proximity and location    of a human shape in relation to the rock helps to explain the title and    the symbolism used by the painter. Notice also, in the bottom left of    the picture, a hug between Salvador and his father. In relation to the    lion head, Freud wrote that the presence of a wild animal represents    sexual urges that a person is afraid of letting go.
 
The Great Masturbator ● El gran masturbador ● Le    grand masturbateur
Salvador Dali, 1929 - Oil on canvas, 110 x 150 cm. - Museo Nacional    Reina Sofï¿½a, Madrid.
 ● He painted it just before meeting Gala. His    needs in Paris by that time became his grief. It’s a self-portrait where    their sexual desires and fears are reflected. By then Dalï¿½ was still a    virgin. His shyness was influenced by the knowledge obtained through his    father’s books of the reach of venereal diseases. Among several symbols,    the following ones stand out: the grasshopper, who terrified Salvador;    the head of a lion alluding repressed desires; and a flower-vessel that    near the chest of the woman, hopes to be filled.
 
Illumined Pleasures ● Placeres iluminados ● Piaceri
Salvador Dali, 1929 - Oil on panel, 24 x 34.5 cm. - The Museum of Modern    Art, New York.
 ● In this painting Dalï¿½ shows his skill with    miniatures. He includes symbols already used in “The Enigma of Desire:    My Mother, My Mother, My Mother. L Enigma del Desiderio” (1929) and in “The Great Masturbator” (1929). In the left box, a man shoots to a rock    that bleeds. The style is the one of Rene Magritte, whose work    influenced Dalï¿½. Both painters had the opportunity to know each other    personally. In the right box, there are men riding bicycle with stones    in their heads. A similar scene, but with fiancï¿½es carrying rocks, is    the main motive for “Colloque Sentimental” (1944).
 
Giorni'29  
The First Days of Spring ● Los primeros dias de    primavera ● I Primi Giorni di Privavera
Salvador Dali, 1929 - Oil and collage on panel, 49.5 x 64 cm. - The    Salvador Dalï¿½ Museum (Reynolds Morse Colection), St Petersburg, Fl, USA.
 ● This is one of the first pictures where Dali    shows what will be his contribution to the surrealist movement. Using    the acquired abilities, meticulously painted the results of a non-censored    imagination. In relation with the subject, it seemed that in his    liberation the role of his father is the most important of all. Salvador    received from his father support and unconditional understanding until    it was evident… in his ambition, Dali was ready to defy to the authority    of his own father. The painter left us plenty of evidence on how    difficult and traumatic his father’s distantness was for him.
 
Invisible'29  
The Invisible Man ● El hombre invisible
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1929 - Oil on canvas, 140 x 180 cm. - Museo Nacional    Reina Sofï¿½a, Madrid.
 ● The Invisible Man. Salvador Dalï¿½, 1929. It    was the first painting in which Dalï¿½ used double images. In this case a    new image is formed from other objects, like was done by Milan painter    Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593). Dalï¿½ however, also uses shades to form    the image. The generation of multiple images will be one of the    characteristics of his critical-paranoiac method.
 
 Premature Ossification of a    Railway Station ● Osificaciï¿½n prematura de una estaciï¿½n ferroviaria ● Une Gare
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1930. Oil on canvas 27 x 31.5 cm
Private Collection
 ● Desert landscape where often    present in Dali’s work, also a cypress tree like the isolated one at the    upper left corner. But the most interesting thing is the wall clock; it    is deformed and in a few months is going to be transformed into the    famous melting clocks.
 
The Persistence of Memory ● La persistencia de la    memoria ● Persistance De La Memoire
Salvador Dali, 1931 - Oil on canvas, 24 x 33 cm - The Museum of Modern    Art, New York.
 ● Here Dalï¿½ introduces his melted watches. He    said that they are nothing else, but the Camembert cheese of space and    time; tender, outlandish, solitary and critical-paranoiac. In this self-portrait,    a Dali similar to which appears in “The Great Masturbator” (1929), is at    rest and with his tongue outside. Besides the insects, he is alone in a    desolate and warm landscape. In these conditions, the perception of time    and space and the behavior of the memories, acquire soft forms that    adjust themselves to the circumstances. Twenty years later in “The    Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory” (1952), Dali broke these    images incorporating knowledge of the consequences of the destructive    use of atomic energy.
 
Evocation 1931
Evocation of the Apparition of Lenin -Partial    Hallucination - Six apparitions of Lenin on a Grand Piano ● Evocaciï¿½n de    la apariciï¿½n de Lenï¿½n - Alucinaciï¿½n parcial - Seis aparariciones de    Lenï¿½n sobre un piano de cola ● Hallucination partielle - Six apparitions    de Lenine sur un piano ● Beschwoerung einer Lenin-Erscheinung
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1931 - Oil on canvas, 114 x 146 cm - Musï¿½e National dï¿½Art    Moderne, Parï¿½s.
 ● Dalï¿½ wasn't identified with the revolutionary    tendencies of the Paris surrealist group. To Dali, a dark cluster of    ants was a symbol of death and decay.
 
The Birth of Liquid Desires ● El nacimiento de los    deseos lï¿½quidos ● Nascita Dei Desideri Liquidi ● Die Geburt der    fliessenden Sehnsuechte
Salvador Dali, 1932 - Oil on canvas, 95 x 112 cm - Peggy Guggenheim    Collection, Venezia
 ● This is a man at the entrance of a cave.    Everything starts in his head, at this point his partner’s head is only    a bunch of flowers, liquid begins to flow controlled by another entity    that doesn’t want to be involved.
 
Eggs 1932  
Fried eggs on the plate without the plate ● Huevos    fritos en un plato sin el plato ● Uova sul Piatto ● Spiegeleier
Salvador Dali, 1932 - Oil on canvas, 60 x 42 cm - The Salvador Dalï¿½    Museum (Morse Charitable Trust), St Petersburg, Fl, USA.
 ● This painting shows Dalï¿½’s memories before he    was born. He is hanging from a string not too far from other objects    that may be associated with his father, his sister and his brother.
 
Nostalgia of the Cannibal ● La nostalgia del canï¿½bal ● La nostalgie du canibale
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1932. Oil on canvas, 47.2 x 47.2 cm. Sprengel Museum,    Hannover.
 
Spring Flowering From A Piano ● Fuente necrofï¿½lica    manando de un piano de cola ● Fontaine nï¿½crophiliaque coulant d'un piano    a queue
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1933 - Oil on canvas, 22 x 27 cm - Private Collection.
 ● This is a variation of the subject painted in “Mysterious Sources of Harmony” (1932-33). It has to do with the outdoor    concerts that the Pitchot family organized, they were very close friends    to Dalï¿½ and had much influence in his artistic inclinations.
 
L'angelus 1933
Millet's Architectonic Angelus ● El Angelus    arquitectï¿½nico de Millet ● L'Angelus arquitectonic de Millet ● Das    architektonische Angeluslaeuten von Millet
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1933 - Oil on canvas, 73 x 61 cm - Museo Nacional Reina    Sofï¿½a, Madrid.
 ● The couple in “ L’angelus” from Jean-Franï¿½ois  Millet , is transformed into two big white stones: young Dali and his father    underneath the male stone, and a female stone using a crutch. Dali    pointed out that although the male stone on the left appears to be    dominant due to it’s size, the female stone is the aggressor here;    pushing out part of herself to make physical contact with the male.
 
To Become Geologique ● El devenir geolï¿½gico ● Devenir    Geologique
Salvador Dali, 1933. Private Collection.
 
Portrait of Gala with Two Lamb Chops Balanced on Her    Shoulder ● Portarretrato de Gala con dos chuletas de cordero sobre sus    hombros ● Gala avec Cotelettes
Salvador Dali, 1933. Oil on olive wood, 6 x 8 cm
Fundaciï¿½n Gala-Salvador Dalï¿½, Figueras, Spain
 ● He thought that if he liked chops and he    liked his wife, why couldn’t he paint them together?
 
Apparition Of My Cousin Carolinetta ● Aparicion de mi    prima Carolinetta
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1934. Oil on canvas, 73 x 100 cm. Private Collection.
 
Atavistic Vestiges after the Rain ● Vestigios atï¿½vicos  despuï¿½s de la lluvia ● Vestiges Ataviques Apres la Pluie
Salvador Dali, 1934 - Oil on canvas, 65 x 54 cm - Perls Galleries, New York.
 ● Here a man and a child (probably Dali and his  father) are going to walk under a rock that isn’t very stable. The father is  indicating something to the child, while the other seems to be leading the path.  On the other hand, this rock is very similar to the one that appears in “ Millets  Architectonic Angelus ” (1933), and represents a feminine figure.
Spettro'34
The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a    Table ● El fantasma de Vermeer de Delft que puede ser usado como una    mesa ● Lo Spettro di Vermeer
Salvador Dali, 1934. Oil on panel, 24 x 18 cm. The Salvador Dalï¿½ Museum    (Reynolds Morse Colection), St Petersburg, Fl, USA.
 
Morning Ossification of Cypress Tree ● Osificaciï¿½n    matinal del ciprï¿½s ● Ossification matinales du cypres
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1934. Oil on canvas, 82 x 66 cm. Private Collection,    Milano.
 
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1934. Oil on canvas, 62 x 47 cm
Private Collection (former Countess Pecci-Blunt collection)
● Beside clocks, Dali took off the rigidity from many objects. He did it    often with string instruments, as in this case, with the violin held by    a woman. Other elements like this wounded cypress tree, this style of    window and the woman breasts, can be also found in other painter’s works.
 
The Specter of Sex Appeal ● El espectro del    sex-appeal
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1934. Oil on canvas, 18 x 14 cm
Fundaciï¿½n Gala-Salvador Dalï¿½, Figueras, Spain
● In this painting Dalï¿½ the child is at the beach, surrounded by rocks    in a very similar environment to one that he knew in his childhood. He’s    watching a woman’s body whose parts are kept together in part by the    action of the crutches. It seems that the center of his curiosity were    the breasts and their content.
 
Face of Mae West Which May Be Used as an Apartment ● El rostro de Mae West que puede ser usado como un apartamento ● Il Volto    Di Mae West
Salvador Dali, 1934-35. Gouache on newspaper, 31 x 17 cm. The Art    Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Il.
 
Costume for Tristan the mad; The Boat ● Traje para Tristï¿½n el loco; El Barco ● Costume pour Tristan fou; Le    bateau
Salvador Dalï¿½,1934-1936. Oil on canvas, 29.5 x 22.5 cm. Private    Collection.
 
Reminisc.'35  
Millet's Architectonic Angelus ● Reminiscencia arquelogica del angelus    de Millet ● Reminescense Archeologique de L Angelus de Millet
Salvador Dali, 1935 - Oil on panel, 32 x 39 cm - The Salvador Dalï¿½    Museum (Morse Charitable Trust), St Petersburg, Fl, USA.
● Based on the painting “ L’angelus ” from the French painter Jean-Franï¿½ois Millet (1814 - 1875). Dali thought that there was something    hidden in the canvas due to the presence of a feeling of anguish. He    also believed that the subject was not only the reverent spirit of the    prayer but in addition, there was a repression of sexual type. In 1963,    an x-ray revealed that Millet had painted between the farmers, the    coffin of a boy. This part was painted over by the artist to make the    picture more saleable.
 
Woman with a Head of Roses ● Mujer con cabeza de    rosas ● Femme a Tete de Roses ● Die Frau mit dem Rosenkopf
Salvador Dali, 1935 - Oil on wood, 35 x 27 cm - Kunsthaus Zurich, Zurich.
● Dalï¿½ often replaced the human head with other heads or objects. He    dislikes the lack of intelligence and excess of perfumes of rich people    around the surrealist group.
 
Gala Portrait'35  
Portrait of Gala ● El Angelus de Gala ● L'Angelus d    Gala
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1935 - Oil on panel, 32 x 26 cm - The Museum of Modern    Art, New York.
● In this painting Gala has an unusual severe expression because of the    obsession and restlessness that Dali had about the picture “L’angelus” from the French painter Jean-Franï¿½ois Millet (1814 - 1875). Dali thought    that there was something hidden in the canvas due to the presence of a    feeling of anguish. He also believed that the subject was not only the    reverent spirit of the prayer but in addition, there was a repression of    sexual type. In 1963, an x-ray revealed that Millet had painted between    the farmers, the coffin of a boy. This part was painted over by the    artist to make the picture more saleable. Simply said; the imagination,    the sensitivity, and the intelligence that Salvador had seems to have no    limits.
 
Paranoiac-Critical Solitude ● Soledad    Paranoia-critica
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1935. Oil on panel, 19 x 23 cm. Private collection (former    Edward James collection).
 
The City Of The Drawers ● La Ciudad de los Cajones
Salvador Dali, 1936 - Oil on wood, 25.4 x 44.2 cm - Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen,  Dusseldorf.
● Dalï¿½ said: “The only difference between the immortal Greece and contemporary  times is Sigmund Freud, who discovered that the human body, purely platonic at  the Greece epoch, nowadays is full of secret drawers that only the  psychoanalysis is capable to open”.
 
Metamorphosis of Narcissus ● Metomorfosis de Narciso
Salvador Dali, 1936-37 - Oil on canvas, 50.8 x 78.3 cm - The Tate    Gallerie, London.
● Dalï¿½ said that it was all about the death and petrifaction of    Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection and was transformed    into the flower that bears his name. Sigmund Freud once commented: “I’ve    never seen such a perfect example of Spanish man before, what a fanatic!”
 
Autumnal Cannibalism ● Canibalismo otoï¿½al
Salvador Dali, 1936-37 - Oil on canvas, 65 x 65.2 cm - The Tate Gallerie,    London.
● This complex painting shows two people who are feeding themselves. The    act implies pleasure and wearing. It was painted at the beginning of the    Spanish civil war. Here; pleasure, wearing, decay, and death are mixed.
 
Soft Construction 1936
Soft construction with boiled beans - Civil War    premonition ● Construcciï¿½n blanda con judï¿½as hervidas. Premoniciï¿½n de la    guerra civil
Salvador Dali, (1936) - Oil on canvas, 100 x 99 cm - The Philadelphia    Museum of Art (The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection), Philadelphia.
● This painting was finished six months before the Spanish Civil War.    Various parts of one same body are hurting each other; it's Dali’s    report concerning the atrocities of such event. The beans are offerings    that attenuate evil spirits. Pressured to pronounce himself politically,    Dalï¿½ stated that he was not Hitlerian or Stalinist, that he was simply "Dalinian".
 
Sun Table ● Mesa Solar ● Table solaire
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1936. Oil on panel, 60 x 40 cm. Museum Boymans-van    Beuningen, Rotterdam.
 
Female Figure With Head of Flowers ● Figura femenina con cabeza de flores
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1936. Private Collection.
 
Ciudad 1936  
Suburbs of a Paranoiac-Critical Town:    Afternoon on the Outskirts of European History - Alrededores de la    ciudad paranï¿½ico-crï¿½tica: tarde al borde de la historia europea -    Banlieu de la Ville Paranoia Apres-Midi. Salvador Dalï¿½, 1936. Oil on    canvas, 90 x 115.5 cm.
Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam.
● This is just part of the critical-paranoiac city because Dalï¿½ himself    is not there, Gala instead, is offering grapes.The contour of the    objects in the first plane has the same shape of the palace in the    background.
 
The burning giraffe ● Jirafa ardiendo ● Girafe En Feu ● Die brennende Giraffe
Salvador Dali, 1936-37 - Oil on panel, 35 x 27 cm - Kunstmuseum Basel.
● Two ideas are connected; the Spanish civil war and his illustration of    Freud’s discovery, using secret drawers that only psychoanalysis is    capable to open.
 
Swans Reflecting Elephants ● Cisnes que se reflejan    como elefantes ● Cygnes Reflechis en Elephants
Salvador Dali, 1937 - Oil on canvas, 51 x 77 cm - Cavalieri Holding Co. Inc., Geneva.
● Dalï¿½ employed his critical–paranoiac method to make elephants appear    from the reflection in the water of the swans.
 
Sleep ● El sueï¿½o ● Le Sommeil
Salvador Dali, 1937 - Oil on canvas, 51 x 78 cm - Private Collection.
● According to Dalï¿½, the act of sleeping was a sort of monster sustained    by the crutches of reality.
 
Monster'37
 Invention of Monsters ● La invenciï¿½n de los    monstruos ● L'invention des monstres
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1937 - Oil on panel, 51.2 x 78.5 cm - The Art Institute    of Chicago (Joseph Winterbotham Collection), Chicago, Il.
● Dali wrote the following explanation: "…According to Nostradamus, the    apparition of monsters is a presage of war. This canvas was painted in    the mountains of Semmering* a few months before the Anschluss** and it    has a prophetic character. The women-horses represent the maternal river-monsters,    the flaming giraffe the male cosmic apocalyptic monster. The angel-cat    is the divine heterosexual monster, the hour-glass the metaphysical    monster. Gala and Dal? together the sentimental monster. The little    lonely blue dog is not a true monster."* [South of Vienna] * *[Annexation    of Austria into the German Reich]
 
Average Pagan Landscape ● Paisaje    pagano promedio ● Paysage Paien Moyen
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1937. Oil on panel, 38 x 46 cm. Private collection (former    Edward James collection).
 
Spain ● Espaï¿½a
Salvador Dali, 1938 - Oil on canvas, 91.8 x 60.2 cm - Museum Boymans-van    Beunigen, Rotterdam.
● Two images; a beautiful lady and people at battlefield. In 1939 people    visited Dali's studio in Paris to attend the critical-paranoiac    exhibition. Among them, Picasso was the first to arrive and the last to    leave, and specially asked to see “Spain”.
 
Fruits 1938  
Apparition of a Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach ● Apariciï¿½n de un rostro y un frutero sobre la playa
Salvador Dali, 1938. - Oil on canvas, 114.8 x 143.8 cm - Hartford (Conn.)    The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection.
● Here we have many overlapped images. Dalï¿½ said that the ambiguity    inside an image makes a new image appear and that this process can be    extended; the amount; of images is only limited by the intellect’s    paranoiac capacity.
 
Beach 1938  
Enchanted Beach With Three Fluid Graces ● Playa    encantada con tres gracias fluidas
Salvador Dali, 1938. Oil on canvas, 65 x 81 cm. The Salvador Dalï¿½ Museum    (Morse Charitable Trust), St Petersburg, Fl, USA.
● As example of his critical-paranoiac method, the heads of the women    may be objects in the background, or in the case of the third woman the    absence of something (A hole in the rock).
 
Impressions of Africa ● Impresiones africanas ● Impressions d'Afrique
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1938. Oil on canvas, 91.4 x 117.5 cm, Museum Boymans-van    Beuningen, Rotterdam.
● It seems that Dali never visited Africa, nevertheless since his    childhood, the painter must have known many aspects of this continent.
 
L'enigme-Sans-Fin '38
The Endless Enigma ● Enigma sin fin ● L'Enigme Sans    Fin
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1938 - Oil on canvas, 114.3 x 144 cm - Museo Nacional    Reina Sofï¿½a, Madrid.
● In this painting Dali extends the amount of overlapped images by the    use of his critical-paranoiac method. It was painted in Dali's studio at    Coco Channel's villa, “La Pausa”, in Roguebrune on the Cote d'Azur.
 
Sublime Moment ● El momento sublime ● Le moment sublime ● Der erhabene Augenblick
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1938. Oil on canvas, 39 x 47 cm. Staatsgalerie Stuttgart,    Stuttgart.
 
Transparent Simulacrum of the Feigned Image ● El    simulacro transparente de la falsa imagen ● Le simulacre transparent de    la farsse image ● Das durchsichtige Scheinbild
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1938. Oil on canvas, 73.5 x 92 cm. Albright Knox Art    Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y.
 
Mountain 1938
Mountain Lake - Beach with Telephone ● Lago de    montaï¿½a - Playa con telï¿½fono
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1938 - Oil on canvas, 73.6 x 92 cm - The Tate Gallery (Former "Edward James Collection"), London.
● This is about the telephone negotiations between Camberlain and Hitler.    Kristen Bradbury: "...hanging by a crutch, signifying the fragility of    the peace that the telephone negotiation have created.". Paul Moorhouse: "...The receiver hangs from a crutch, its cord draped limply from a    second, similar support, suggesting that the lines of communications are    dead."
 
Ballerine in a Death's Head ● Ballerine en cabeza de muerte ● Ballerine et Tete de Mort
Salvador Dali, 1939. Oil on canvas, 24.5 x 19.5 cm - Merz Collection.
 
Salvador Dali, 1939. Rita Green Collection, Zurich.
 
Honey is Sweeter    than Blood ● La miel es mï¿½s dulce que la sangre ● La miel est plus doux    que le sang
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1941. Oil on panel, 49.5 x 60 cm.
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA.
 
Poetry of America - The Cosmic Athletes ● Poesia    americana - Los atletas cosmicos ● Poesie D`amerique
D`amerique. Salvador Dali, 1942. Fundaciï¿½n Gala-Salvador Dalï¿½, Figueras.
● A painting made in honor of America; two athletes, one white and one    black, collect what seems to be a sub-product of a coca-cola bottle. In    the back, hanging from a clock, there’s a soft and leaking Africa.
 
Nude on the Plain of Rosas (Wall Decoration for    Helena Rubenstein) ● Desnudo en la llanura de rosas (Mural para Helena    Rubenstein) ● Nu dans la plaine de rosas
Salvador Dali, 1942 - Oil on canvas, 50 x 50 cm - Yokohama Museum of    Art, Yokohama.
● This was part of a decoration that Dalï¿½ made for Helena Rubinstein’s    apartment.
 
Two Harlequins ● Dos Harlequines ● Die zwei Harlekine
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1942. Private Collection.
 
La Navire (Wall Decoration for Helena Rubinstein, Panel   1) ● El Barco. Traje para Tristï¿½n el Loco (Mural decorativo para Helena   Rubinstein)
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1942. Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama.
 
Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus - Motherhood of    birds. La Virgen Maria cargando al nino Jesus - Maternidad de los    pajaros.
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1942.
 
Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of a New Man ● Niï¿½o geopolï¿½tico observando el nacimiento del hombre nuevo
Salvador Dali, 1943 - Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 50 cm - The Salvador Dalï¿½    Museum (Morse Charitable Trust), St Petersburg, Fl, USA.
● A woman showing her child the new American culture. Regarding the    mother’s feeling, there are various possibilities.
 
The Ship ● El barco ● La navire
Salvador Dali, 1942-1943. The Salvador Dalï¿½ Museum, St Petersburg, Fl,    USA.
 
Dream 1944  
Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a    Pomegranate One Second Before Waking Up - Gala and the Tigers ● Sueï¿½o    causado por el vuelo de una abeja alrededor de una granada un segundo    antes del despertar - Gala y Tigres ● Reve Cause Par Le Vol D'une    Abeille Auto ● Die zerstoerte Der Flug einer Biene
Salvador Dali, 1944 - Oil on canvas, 51 x 40.5 cm - Museo Thyssen,    Fondazione Thyssen-Bornemisza, Lugano-Castagnola.
● Dalï¿½ illustrates another Freud’s discoveries. He said: “…a typical    dream with a long theme, the consequence of a sudden accident that    causes the awakening.”
 
Apotheosis of Homer ● La apoteosis de Homero ● L'Apothï¿½ose d'Homere
Salvador Dali, 1944-45. Staatsgallerie Moderner Kunst, Munich.
● He said that this is a detailed narration of the world of    blind-people.
 
Colloque'44
Sentimental Colloquy (Study for a Ballet) ● Coloquio    sentimental (estudio para un ballet) ● Colloque Sentimental
Salvador Dali, 1944. Oil on canvas, 10 5/8 x 16 1/8" The Salvador Dalï¿½    Museum (Reynolds Morse Colection), St Petersburg, Fl, USA.
 
Paranoia (Surrealist Figures) ● Paranoia ( Figuras surrealistas) ● Figures Surrealistes
Salvador Dali , 1944. Oil on panel 35 x 23.7 cm. Private collection.
 
My Naked Wife Watching Her Body ● Mi    mujer desnuda contemplando su propio cuerpo convirtiï¿½ndose en escalera,    tres vï¿½rtebras de una columna, cielo y arquitectura ● Ma Femme, Nue,    Regardant son Popre Corps
Salvador Dali, 1945. Josï¿½ Mugrabi Collection, New York.
● Dalï¿½ makes an architectural composition of his wife’s shapes,    combining a very intense femininity with a great management of classical    techniques.
 
The broken Bridge of the Dream ● El puente roto del   sueï¿½o ● Bruecke und der Traum
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1945. The Salvador Dalï¿½ Museum (Reynolds Morse Colection), St   Petersburg, Fl, USA.
 
Mirage. Desert Trilogy. Apparition of a Woman and    Suspended Architecture in the Desert, for "Desert Flower" perfume ● Mirage - Trilogia del desierto - Aparicion de una mujer y arquitectura    suspendida en el desierto, para "Desert Flower"
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1946. Oil on canvas, dimensions unknown. Private    collection.
 
The Temptation of St. Anthony ● La tentacion de San    Antonio ● Die Versuchung des Heiligen Antonius
Salvador Dali, 1946. Musï¿½es Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belguique,    Brussels.
● Here St. Anthony tries to protect himself from several kinds of    temptations. This was painted for a film contest, he didn’t win. By that    time he was making paintings for the set of an Alfred Hitchcock film.
 
Annunciation ● La anunciaciï¿½n ● L'announciation
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1947. Private Collection.
 
Las tres esfinges de bikini ● Les trois sphinx de    bikini
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1947. Private Collection, Geneva.
 
Portrait of Picasso ● Portarretrato de   Picasso
Salvador Dali, 1947. Oil on canvas, 64.1 x 54.7 cm
Fundaciï¿½n Gala-Salvador Dalï¿½, Figueras, Spain
● Dali studied all great masters and showed respect for most of them. When   Dali visited Picasso in Paris, he let Picasso know that he was visiting him   before going to the Louvre, Picasso replied: “you did the right thing”. In   the painting however, the musical instrument that the subject is offering   out coming from his intellect, looks rather small. Even with the presence of   flowers, the expression isn’t a friendly one. Perhaps Dali thought that   Picasso’s perception capabilities were limited somehow (Nose) and that he   also carried a great sense of guilt (Stone on the head).
 
The Elephants ● Elefantes
Salvador Dali, 1948. Private Collection.
● These elephants with arachnid legs were included in “The Temptation of    St. Anthony”. Here, the loads on the elephants’ backs are floating.
 
Without Title ● Sin titulo ● Sans Titre
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1948.
Landscape ● Desnudo en el desierto (Bestias salvajes en el desierto) ● Nu dans le dï¿½sert
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1948. Private Collection.
 
Madonna of Port Lligat (second version). ● La Madonna    de Port Lligat
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1950. Oil on canvas 144 x 96 cm
Minami Group Collection, Tokio.
● There are three paintings with this same title. In the first one, a    48.9 x 37.5 cm Oil on Canvas (1949) at Marquette University of    Milwaukee, the Madonna has her head tilted slightly to her left side. In    the second one -shown here- (1950), the Madonna’s head is tilted to her    right side. The third one (1950) at the Lady Beaverbrook Collections in    New Brunswick Canada, is a huge 12 x 8 ft oil on canvas, again with a    square hole in Madonna’s chest. The square hole is repeated in baby    Jesus chest with the Eucharistic bread inside.
 
Drawing for ''Christ of St. John of the Cross'' ● Estudio para el "Cristo de San Juan de la Cruz"
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1951. The Salvador Dalï¿½ Museum, St Petersburg, Fl, USA.
 
Christ of St. John of the Cross ● Cristo de San Juan    de la Cruz
Salvador Dali,1951. The Glasgow Art Gallery, Glasgow.
 
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory ● La    desintegraciï¿½n de la persistencia de la memoria
Salvador Dali, 1952-54 - The Salvador Dalï¿½ Museum (Reynolds Morse    Colection), St Petersburg, Fl, USA.
● Dali comments about this painting: “…After twenty years of immobility,    the soft watches are themselves dynamically disintegrating...” Here,    Dali broke the images of its famous painting “The Persistence of Memory” (1931). During the last twenty years the painter has been affected by    the consequences of several wars, particularly by the destructive use of    the nuclear energy. Apart of this warlike use, this invention like many    other advances of the human knowledge, interested the Painter, who    frequently included them in his works.
 
Galatea of the Spheres ● Galatï¿½a de    las esferas ● Galatï¿½e aux spheres
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1952. Fundaciï¿½n Gala-Salvador Dalï¿½, Figueras.
 
Virgin Buggered By Her Own Chastity ● Joven virgen    sodomizada por su propia castidad ● Giovane Vergine Sodomizzata
Salvador Dali, 1954 - Playboy Collection, Los Angeles.
● Dali commented: "The rhino horn is indeed the legendary unicorn horn,    symbol of chastity. The young lady may choose to lie on it or to morally    play with it; as it was usual in courtesan love epochs".
 
Soft Watch At Moment of First Explosion ● Reloj    blando en el momento de su primera explosion
Salvador Dali, 1954 - Ink on paper, 14 x 19.1 cm - Private Collection.
● This represents the idea of the dynamical disintegration of one of his    most characteristic elements, the soft watch. He was very interested on    theories related to matter composition.
 
Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) ● Die Kreuzigung
Salvador Dali, 1954. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
 
Symphony in red ● Sinfonï¿½a en rojo ● Symphonie en    rouge
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1954. Private Collection.
 
Sacrament of the Last Supper ● La ï¿½ltima cena ● Das    Letzte Abendmahl
Salvador Dali, 1955. The National Gallery of Art (Chester Dale    Collection), Washington.
● Twelve pentagons and twelve apostles, as Dalï¿½ said: “…communion must    be symmetric.”
 
Ascensionist Saint Cecilia ● La Ascensiï¿½n de Santa    Cecilia
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1955. Oil on canvas, 81 x 66 cm
● This painting is from the times Dali showed some respect to the    Catholic Church. He already has in his mind the knowledge of the    existence of theories about the structure of the matter. The elements    employed here are similar to the rhinoceros horn, which he believed    possessed special geometrical features.
 
A lively still life ● Naturaleza Muerta, Viva ● Natura Morte, Vivente
Salvador Dali, 1956. The Salvador Dalï¿½ Museum (Reynolds Morse Colection),    St Petersburg, Fl, USA.
● In this painting Dalï¿½ handles the usual elements found in a still    life, here however, he turned these elements alive by positioning them    in a natural condition of movement.
 
Landscape with Butterflies ● Paisaje con mariposas
Salvador Dali, 1956.
Red orchestra - Musical Tempest ● La mï¿½sica - La    orquesta roja - las siete artes
Salvador Dali, 1957. G.E.D. Nahmad, Geneva.
● A different picture with similar elements, (The Red Orchestra - The    Seven Arts, 1944), an oil on canvas of dimensions unknown, was destroyed    in a fire at the Ziegfeld theatre in New York.
 
Santiago the Great ● Santiago El Grande ● Saint    Jacques le Grand
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1957. Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New    Brunswick.
 
Burning Giraffes and Telephones - Seven Arts-    Rhapsodie moderne ● Jirafas ardiendo y telefonos - Las siete artes ● Les    sept arts ● Brennende Giraffen und Telefone
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1957. Private Collection.
 
The Ecumenical Council ● El Concilio ecumenico ● Oekumenisches Konzil
Salvador Dali, 1960. The Salvador Dalï¿½ Museum (Morse Charitable Trust), St  Petersburg, Fl, USA.
● Produced in his period of historic paintings. History, religion and  autobiographic subjects were combined.
 
Maelstrom. Portrait of Juan de Pareja    fixing a string of his mandoline ● Retrato de Juan de Pareja reparando    una cuerda de su mandolina ● Portrait de Juan de Pareja reparand une    corde a' sa mandoline
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1960. Private Collection.
 
Birth of a Divinity ● El nacimiento de una Divinidad ● Geburt einer Gottheit
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1960. Oil on panel, 36 x 26 cm
Private Collection
● Here, Dali shows his outstanding capacity to give us a whole idea of    something, with just a few, meaningful elements.
 
Tigre 1963
Fifty abstract paintings which as    seen from two yards change into three lenins masquerading as chinese and    as seen from six yards appear as the head of a royal tiger ● Cinco    pinturas abstractas que vistas desde dos yardas se transforman en tres    Lenin disfrazados de chino y vistas desde seis yardas parece la cabeza    de un tigre real
Salvador Dali, 1963. Oil on canvas, 200 x 229 cm. Minami Art Museum,    Tokio.
 
Station of Perpignan - La estaciï¿½n de    Perpiï¿½ï¿½n - La gare de Perpignan. Salvador Dalï¿½, 1965.
Museum Lidwig, Kohln.
Greek'68
Composition with Greek Head - Mad Mad    Mad Minerva - Illustration for "Memories of Surrealism" ● Minerva loca,    loca, loca" - Ilustraciï¿½n para "Memorias del Surrealismo" 2
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1968. Oil, gouache and indian ink with photo collage on    paper, 61 x 48 cm Galerie Kalb, Vienna.
 
The Hallucinogenic Toreador ● El    Toreador Halucinogeno ● Torero Hallucinogene
Salvador Dali, 1969. Oil on Canvas 4 x 3 m
The Salvador Dalï¿½ Museum (Morse Charitable Trust), St Petersburg, Fl,    USA.
● This painting has extraordinary proportions (4 x 3 meters). It's a    combination of several resulting elements from its critical-paranoiac    method. The boy observing is Dalï¿½ himself. It is said that being in NY,    Dalï¿½ bought a box of pencils by the brand "Venus" which had a    reproduction of the Milo's Venus, and then he expressed his desire to    make this painting. Gala expression is due to the fact that she didn't    like bullfights. In the bay, almost imperceptible and out of context,    there is a woman in a yellow raft. The painter was worried about the    consequences of the increasing tourism at Cabo de Creuss, although on    the other hand, he thought that in the long run the rocks would overcome    the visitors and will destroy the trash that they left behind. (This    detail is so small that it must be seen in person. If you take a    vacation to Miami, plan a trip to Saint Petersburg for at least one day    to visit the Salvador Dali Museum. It is one of the most important    collections of the world).
 
Lovers'70
Patient lovers (Appearence of a visage with    stereoscopic tendencies in an ampurdan landscape) ● Amantes pacientes (Apariciï¿½n    de un rostro con tendencias estereoscï¿½picas en un paisaje del Ampurdï¿½n) ● (Apparition d'un visage a' tendence stereoscopique dans un paysage de    l'Ampurdan)
Salvador Dalï¿½,1970. Private Collection.
 
Gala-Lincoln '74
Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea Which at Twenty  Meters Becomes the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln - Homage to Rothko- Lincoln in  Dalivision - (First version) ● Gala contemplando el Mediterraneo, que vista  desde veinte metros se convierte en el retrato de Abraham Lincoln - Homenaje a  Rothko- Lincoln en Galavision (Primera version)
Salvador Dali, 1974-1975; 4.45 x 3.5 m; Fundaciï¿½n Gala-Salvador Dalï¿½, Figueras  (First version)
● This is the first version of two very similar paintings. A second,  and a little different version , is in Minami  Art Museum, Tokio. You can see two images: Gala watching the Mediterranean Sea  or, looking at it from a distance of twenty meters the picture transforms itself  into an Abraham Lincoln portrait.
 
The Giraffe of Avignon ● La Jirafa de Avignon ● Brennende Giraffen
Salvador Dali, 1975. Pastel, watercolour, gouache and stuck-on paper. 43    x 63.5 cm
Private Collection
● Three old painter’s ideas are shown here: the burning giraffes,    similar groups on both sides of the way and a father showing them to his    child.
 
Lincoln-DaliVision'76
Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea Which at    Twenty Meters Becomes the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln - Homage to    Rothko- Lincoln in Dalivision - (Second version) ● Gala contemplando el    Mediterraneo, que vista desde veinte metros se convierte en el retrato    de Abraham Lincoln - Homenaje a Rothko- Lincoln en Galavision (Segunda    version)
Salvador Dali, 1976. Oil on canvas (Second version); 1.92 x 2.52 m;    Private Collection, Tokyo.
● This is the second version of two very similar paintings. You can see    two images: Gala watching the Mediterranean Sea or, looking at it from a    distance of twenty meters the picture transforms itself into an Abraham    Lincoln portrait.
 
SEARCH FOR THE FOURTH DIMENSION ● La busqueda de la    cuarta dimension
Salvador Dalï¿½, 1979. Fundaciï¿½n Gala-Salvador Dalï¿½, Figueras.
 
 Apparition of the Face of the Aphrodite of    Knidos ● Aparicion del rostro de Aphrodita de Cnide ● Das Gesicht der    Aphrodite
Salvador Dali, 1981. Fundaciï¿½n Gala-Salvador Dalï¿½, Figueras.
● This painting was made at the end of his carrier, it shows up changes    in his previous styles.
 
Bed and two small nigh tables fiercelly attacking a    violoncello ● Cama y dos mesitas de noche atacando ferozmente a un    violonchelo ● Lit et deux tables de nuit attaquant ferocement un    violoncelle
Dalï¿½, 1983. Museo Nacional Reina Sofï¿½a, Madrid.