I have never been a big fan of Dali, despite the fact we own two signed prints by the Spanish surrealist. Then again, I never saw a real sampling
of his work. Until today, that is.
We took a train – actually several
trains – to Figueres, where Dali was born, lived and worked to visit the Dali
Theatre-Museum, which was also designed by the artist. You can get a preview of his work from
the building itself and the courtyard, but the real – or surreal – surprises are
inside.
Surrealism, like other post-modern
“isms” isn’t easy to define. And
as undefined as the art is, there were a lot of rules within the surrealist
community, that covered not only art, but also literature, music and even
thought. Dali, it seems, was not a
member in good standing with other surrealists because he was a capitalist,
which didn’t sit well with them.
But what else could you call his paintings, if not surreal?
Some of his works are indescribably
weird, others whimsically creative.
Some were peaceful and soothing and I really loved some from the “Don
Quixote” and “Divine Comedy” series.
One room contained paintings of rocks that morphed into people when
studied them and he even produced an unbelievable collection of jewelry. We had a great time and I learned a
lot. To paraphrase Mark Twain,
“Dali’s art isn’t as bad as it looks!”
