Surrealist painting of Salvador Dali "Elephants"

"Elephants" - a picture of Salvador Dali, creating a minimalistic and almost monotonous surrealistic plot. The absence of many elements and the blue sky makes it unlike the rest of the canvases, but the simplicity of the picture strengthens the attention that the viewer gives to Bernini's elephants - the repeatedly repeating element in Dali's work.

The person who has won a reality

Dali is one of those artists who rarely leave indifferent even among people who are not familiar with art. No wonder he is the most popular artist of modern times. The paintings of the surrealist are written as if reality, such as the world sees it, did not exist for Dali.

Many experts are inclined to think that the fruits of the artist's imagination, poured onto the canvas in the form of unreal plots, is the fruit of a painful mind eaten by psychosis, paranoia and delusions of grandeur (an opinion often agreed by the masses, trying to explain something that can not be understood) . Salvador Dali lived, as he wrote, thought, as he wrote, so his paintings, like the canvases of other artists, are a reflection of the reality that the surrealist around him saw.

In his autobiographies and letters, through a dense veil of arrogance and narcissism, a rational attitude to life and his actions, regret and recognition of his own weak-willed character, which draws strength in unshakable confidence in his own genius. Having broken ties with the artistic community of his native Spain, Dali said that surrealism is he, and was not mistaken. Today the first thing that comes to mind when meeting the word "surrealism" is the name of the artist.

Duplicate characters

Dali often used in his paintings repeated symbols, such as watches, eggs or slingshots. Critics and art historians are not able to explain the significance of all these elements and their goals in the paintings. Perhaps again and again appearing objects and objects link pictures to each other, but there is a theory that Dali used them for commercial purposes in order to increase attention and interest in his paintings.

Whatever the motives for using the same symbols in different paintings, the artist for some reason chose them, which means that they had a secret meaning, if not the goal. One of such elements, passing from the canvas to the canvas, are "long-legged" elephants with an obelisk on their backs.

For the first time such an elephant appeared in the picture "A dream caused by the flight of a bee around a pomegranate, a second before awakening." Subsequently, the picture of Salvador Dalí "Elephants" was painted, on which he depicted two such animals. The artist himself called them "Elephants Bernini", because the image was created under the influence of sleep, in which the sculpture of Bernini paced in the funeral procession of the Pope.

Salvador Dali, Elephants: description of the painting

In the picture, two elephants on incredibly long and thin legs walk along the deserted plain towards each other against the background of a red-yellow sunset sky. At the top of the picture the stars are already shining in the sky, and the horizon is still illuminated by bright sunlight. Both elephants bear the attributes of the Pope and are covered with the same carpets, in tone to the elephants themselves. One of the elephants lowered the trunk and head and goes from west to east, the other goes to meet him, lifting the trunk.

The picture of Salvador Dali "Elephants" makes everyone, except for the animals themselves, sink and dissolve in the bright sunset light. At the feet of elephants, the outlines of human figures approaching meet; Their shadows are almost as grotesque as the feet of elephants. One of the figures resembles the silhouette of a man, the other a woman or an angel. Between the figures of people, in the background, stands a translucent house, lit by the rays of the setting sun.

Symbolism of Salvador Dali

Painting by Salvador Dalí Elephants seems to be simpler than many others, because it does not abound with many elements and is made in a narrow and fairly dark color palette.

Symbols, in addition to the elephants themselves, are:

• Bloody sunset;
• A semi-transparent house, more reminiscent of a monument;
• Desert landscape;
• Running figures;
• "Mood" of elephants.

In many cultures, elephants are symbols of power and influence, perhaps this is what attracted the great egoist Dali. The choice of Bernini's elephants is associated with the symbol of religion, however, most likely, the special attraction of the sculpture for the surrealist Dali is that Bernini created it without seeing a real elephant once in his life. The long, thin legs of elephants in the picture are opposed to their mass and strength, creating a distorted, double symbol of strength and power, which rests on a shaky design.

Salvador Dali was an artist with a superhuman flight of fantasy and a unique imagination. Not everyone understands his pictures, and quite a few can give them a concrete, fact-confirmed explanation, but everyone agrees that every picture of the Spanish surrealist is in one way or another a reflection of reality, as perceived by the artist.

The picture of Salvador Dalí "Elephants" is a perfect example of a surreal plot. It creates a reality that resembles someone else's planet or a strange dream.