Salvador Dalí was one of the greatest Spanish painters of all time, and one of the most important figures in the history of the modern art movement. Both Dalí's extraordinary talent and odd personality helped him to rise above the rest of the twentieth century surrealists.
Dalí was a versatile artist. Some of his more popular works are sculptures and other objects, and he is also noted for his contributions to theatre, fashion, and photography, among other areas.
Snail And The Angel
Unicorn
Persistence of Memory
Snail and the Angel
This sculpture occupies an important place in the Dalinian universe, as it is intimately connected with the artist's encounter with Sigmund Freud, who Dali came to regard as his spiritual father. As part of the early Surrealist movement, Dali was surrounded by psychoanalytical influences, and these ideas were strongly incorporated into his artwork. As Dali believed that nothing occurred simply by accident, he was captivated when he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house, connecting the snail with the image of a human head; more particularly, with the head of Freud. Dali was also fascinated by the natural geometry of snail shells, and like the egg, the duality of its soft interior with its hard exterior. Paradoxically then, the snail, the universal symbol of the idle passing of time, has been given wings and is riding fluidly moving waves. A winged messenger of the gods, capable of limitless speed, bestows the snail with the gift of motion by touching down on its back for the briefest of moments.
Persistence of Memory
Dalí has isolated the central image of his best-known painting and given this sculpture the same title. It is a simple figure consisting of a limp watch draped over the branch of a tree, the classic symbol of life. In his words, "Materialization of the flexibility of time and the indivisibility of time and space. Time is not rigid. It is one with space - fluid". Dalí examines the human perception of time: the speed of time, while precise in scientific use, is widely variable in human perception. When we are involved in pleasant activities or in work that absorbs all our attention, 'time flies', but when we are mired in boredom or discomfort, it drags. The limp watch no longer 'keeps' time; it does not measure its passage. Thus, the speed of time depends on the individual.
Unicorn
The unicorn is a mythical creature prominent in legends as an intricate symbol of purity. The horn of a unicorn is believed capable of neutralising any poison. This animal also has connotations of chastity and virginity, both male and female, and was adopted as the sign or ideal representation of the "perfect" knight. In some legends it was also a symbol of virility. Dali chose to portray the unicorn as a phallic figure whose horn penetrates a stone wall through a heart-shaped opening, from which a drop of blood is slowly falling. The nude, reposing female stretched out in the foreground at the hooves of the animal underlines the sensual nature of this sculpture.
via : salvadordaliart.com
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