GALLERY GUIDE

Women: D Ifs View

This document is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication.

JUNE - SEPTEMBER^jpOS SALVADOR DALI MUSEUM • St PETERSBURG Gallery Layout Raymond James Community Room 1 Introduction

2 Folklore

3 Angelus, Gradiva, Sphinx Lower Gallery 4 Exhibition continues

5 Landscape, Beatrice

6 Lower Gallery: Large "Masterworks"

7 Madonna/Saints/Angels, de Milo

8 Gala photographs (1910-1945)

9 Gala, a film by Silvia Munt, 4-1/2 min. loop

10 Raymond James Community Room: Works on paper

= film Gallery Entrance Introduction to "Women: Dali's View"

The images of women dominate the history of art. Women, as an artistic obsession, mirrors the changing images and identities of females in our society. Among the sculptures of the earliest human beings are voluptuous figurines which emphasize the breasts and hips of sustenance and reproduction. In Western antiquity, sculptures of women expressed a modest and idealized grace. The Greek Goddess of Beauty, , and the Roman, Venus, with serene and commanding facial features, were often represented partially clothed, presenting a composite of sensua and intellectual beauty. In the European Middle Ages, the Virgin Mary and the female saints engaged the attention of artists and are depicted as fine featured, fragile, and long suffering. In short, women in art are as diverse as women in life, no representation being consummate but always an expression of their variability and the attitudes toward them on the part of artists, most of whom have been men. A range of approaches as diverse as all these historical approaches is found in Dali's view of women. Dali's first image of a woman can be found in childhood sketches (1916) which included nudes and depictions of witches from Catalan legends. During these early years, Ana Maria, Dali's younger sister, frequently modeled for portraits, often seated, such as Portrait of my Sister (1923). Dali admired the artist Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, and emulated Ingres' approach to the female figure in Study of a Nude (1925), seen from behind. Girl with Curls (1926) presents a clothed and standing woman situated in a Dali with Museum Founders Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, Knoedler Gallery, New York, April 13, 1943. Photographer unknown. Copyright © Salvador Dali. Fundacio Gala- landscape which recalls a 15th-century Florentine painting. The Salvador Dali, Spain (Artist Rights Society) 2008. Salvador Dali Museum Archives. girl is turned away from us and slightly lifts one foot, and the resulting tension in her hips suggests erotic desire. This figure Folklore may be related to Dali's reported attraction for a little girl named Dullita, as recounted in his fictionalized autobiography, The Secret Life (1942). Girl's Back (1926) depicts the head, shoulders Dalf drew sketches of witches when he was young. In Catalan and hair of Dalf's sister as viewed from behind. Her shoulders popular culture, there are numerous legends about witches are illuminated by a warm light, and she is set against (Catalan bruixes). According to popular Catalan usage, a witch a dark ground, features which recall the naturalism of Jan is a woman who has acquired supernatural powers by making a Vermeer. Dali's Bather paintings (1928) attack the conventional pact with the . Dalf's ancestors on his father's side were ideas of Beauty, that of the reclining nude, through disturbing agricultural laborers from the small Catalan town of Llers. Llers transformations and fragmentations of the female body. As well was once reputed to be infested with witches. In 1920, Dalf explicitly erotic themes appear frequently in Dali's drawings of painted a watercolor titled La Sardana de las Brujas, depicting four the female body. nude witches dancing in a circle in the sky over Cadaques the In Dali's paintings from the surrealist period, he continually Sardana, the traditional national dance of Catalonia. mythologizes his wife Gala so that Gala the woman and Gala the Catalan folklore has been strongly influenced by Roman mythological figure merge into one. He paints and repaints her Catholicism. Saints and visions of the Virgin Mary play a until she becomes a familiar feature of his iconography. He prominent role in legends, tales, and customs. painted her as the Sphinx, Gradiva, and Leda, infusing in her his interest in the feminine of mothers, daughters, muses, and predators. For Da If, Gala was "my intimate truth, my double, my one," and he developed with her a twinned public persona, sometimes signing his paintings Gala Salvador Da//'. In Enchanted Beach with Three Fluid Graces (1938), Dalf returned to an imaginative interpretation of the Fates of . In Dali's later period he unites the image of Gala with the traditional subject of the Virgin Mary. In Study for Head of the Madonna of Port Lligat (1950) Gala is the model for the Madonna. Yet he heaps upon her even more qualities as she stands as witness and regent to his exploration of his changing artistic engagements with classical painting, Catholicism, and atomic science. The Angelus Gradiva

Dalfwas obsessed with Jean-Francois Millet's The Angelus (1858-59 In 1903, the German author Wilhelm Jensen wrote a short story The Louvre). In 1932, he recorded his ideas in The Tragic of called 'Gradiva: A Pompeian Phantasy.' It was this obscure and Millet's Angelus, an essay containing one of the most brilliant examples mysterious tale that inspired the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud of Dali's paranoiac-critical method. to discuss Gradiva extensively in his 1909 work, Delusions and Millet was a member of the Barbizon school, a group of French Desires in Jensen's Gradiva. On reading Freud's analysis of the artists who left Paris to join a commune and paint outdoors. story, Dali became inspired to make new work based on the Considered a realist painter, Millet's primary subjects were the peasant figure of Gradiva. Of course, Gala appears as Gradiva. farmers. The Angelus, which celebrates the deep spirituality of a The Jensen story concerns Norbert Hanold, a young peasant couple giving thanks to God for their harvest at the end of the archaeologist who becomes fixated with a girl represented on a day, became one of his most popular works of the turn of the century. Roman relief. He calls the girl Gradiva, the name referring to her During the early 1930s, Da If began to have waking hallucinations sprightly walk, and she is real. After dreaming that she of the painting, and it became a source of obsession. He proposed was buried in the eruption of Vesuvius, he sets off to Pompeii in that there must be some latent meaning in the work—something search of her. Once there, he encounters a childhood friend, Zoe undetected and sexual—to explain its universal popularity. He decided Bertgang, whom he mistakes for the girl in the relief. She cures to analyze it using his paranoiac-critical method. He eventually him of his delusion by pointing out her true identity and frees proposed that The Angelus painting's female protagonist was a sexual him to live a normal life with her. In his analysis of the story, predator and the male was her victim. Thus sexual repression was the Freud concluded that Hanold had in fact been obsessed with latent theme of the work. Between 1932 and 1934, Da If painted Zoe all along, pointing out that in German 'Bertgang' also endless variations of The Angelus, and his comments on the painting describes a way of walking. The surrealists were enchanted by are indicative of his concerns in the early 1930s. For example, he the redemptive power of love suggested in the story and writes that the female figure's posture is ". .. symbolic of the adopted Gradiva as an archetypal muse. For Dali, Gradiva was exhibitionistic eroticism of a virgin in waiting, the position before the Gala, and he frequently called her Gala-Gradiva. act of aggression such as that of a praying mantis prior to her cruel coupling with the male that will end with his death." The female Angelus figure is presented as an evil seductress, the archetypal 19th-century femme fatale with the implication that she will kill her partner after sex. The Sphinx Landscape

The Sphinx in Greek mythology is a demon of unique destruction Dali's homeland in Catalonia in the northeast of Spain was a constant and bad luck. The Sphinx often is represented as a winged lion source of inspiration. In Dali's early landscapes and seascapes, the with a woman's head; or a woman with the claws of a lion, a town of Cadaques inspired the artist to experiment with the changing serpent's tail and eagle's wings. She is said to have guarded the effects of light. As the impressionists, Dali used luminous colors boldly entrance to the Greek city of Thebes. To enter the city the Sphinx applied. Dali especially loved the rocky areas just beyond Port Lligat. required that her riddle be answered correctly. The famous riddle This area supports some of the most dramatic geography of this region was: "Which creature in the morning goes on four feet, at noon where the Pyrenees meet the sea. The jagged cliffs carved from the on two, and in the evening upon three?" Anyone unable to wind and seas invite the imagination to invent human forms among answer her riddle was strangled and devoured. Only Oedipus the curved and sweeping reach of the rocks. guessed the answer correctly: Man—who crawls on all fours as a Dali used his paranoiac-critical method to visualize a couple in baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and walks with a cane Archeological Reminiscence of Millet's "Angelas" (1933-35), as two in old age. The Sphinx subsequently threw herself from her high towering monoliths on the moonlit plain of the Emporda (the name the rock and died. She was a symbol of power and mystery, and ancient Greeks gave to their colony in Catalonia). In this painting, the equally could pose as muse or consultant oracle. The surrealists female figure dominates the male by her stature. Another expression thought of the Sphinx as an emblem of the female as predator. of the concept of the "anthropomorphic landscape" appears in Gala appears as the Sphinx in several paintings by Dali. In Sugar Enchanted Beach with Three Fluid Graces (1938), where three women Sphinx (1933), she is a symbol of mystery and power, the title meld into the topography. Their heads are formed by the rocks; one implying she means no harm. face evolves from warring figures; another becomes formed by the distant landscape seen through an opening in a cliff. Again, the woman with her back to us is the key element in Old Age, Adolescence, Infancy (1940). Gaps in a rock wall form the three ages of man. To animate the face on the left Dali utilizes a figure bowed to the right, perhaps his grandmother, Ana, sewing. Her mantled head becomes the eye in the face of old age. The middle face of adolescence combines Dali's nursemaid seated next to young Dali to form the lips and nose. Next, the familiar fisherwoman repairing nets forms the face of a child. Dali uses a visual field of collapsed perspective and systemized confusion to create these double images. Gala

In 1929, Dalf met Gala Eluard, who became his lover and muse Gala was a Russian woman ten years Dali's senior. Born Elena Dimitrievna Diakanova in Kazan, Russia, on August 26,1894, she was strong willed and had been the muse and lover of several surrealists, including Max Ernst and Giorgio DeChirico. She married the surrealist poet Paul Eluard, who nicknamed her Gala. The Eluards visited Dalf in Cadaques in the summer of 1929. According to Dalf, he and Gala were immediately taken with each other. When the others returned to Paris, Gala and her daughter Cecile remained with Dalf in Cadaques for several weeks. While her presence filled Dalf with excitement and self- confidence, it became a new source of antagonism between Dalf and his family, who frowned upon the adulterous relationship. For Dalf, Gala was "my intimate truth, my double, my one," and he developed with her an intertwined public persona, signing his paintings "Gala Salvador Dalf." He mythologized Gala in his paintings, so that Gala the woman and Gala the mythological figure are inseparable. Most of the women Dalf painted have the face of Gala: he painted her as the Sphinx, Gradiva, Leda, and the Madonna.

Robert Descharnes Go/a, unlike the exhibitionistic, eccentric, concentric Da//', is "she who hides," she who advances masked and gay. Port Lligat, September 27,1959. Collection Salvador Dali Museum Archives. Salvador Dalf Museum Museum Events: June-September 2008 For more information go to www.salvadordalimuseum.org/events The Salvador Dalf Museum is the permanent home of the western hemisphere's most comprehensive collection of the renowned Spanish artist's work. Compiled by A. Reynolds Morse Weekly and Monthly: and Eleanor Morse, friends of the artist as well as patrons over a 45-year period, it is celebrated for its 96 oil paintings. Together EVERY SATURDAY with Dali's own museum, the Teatre-Museu Dalf located in 11:00 am-4:30 pm Dalf Family Fun Saturdays: Figueres, Spain, the Dalf Museum St. Petersburg provides a 11:00 am Poster Talk (Starts 7/19) complete experience of the artist's vision and work. 11:45 am-4:30 pm Hands-On Activities With oils spanning from 1917 through 1970, the collection Free with the price of admission. provides an excellent overview of Dali's major themes and symbols. Characterized by its diversity, it includes the impressionist and FIRST SATURDAY EACH MONTH (JULY-SEPTEMBER) cubist approaches of his early period, abstract work from his 9:00-11:00 am Breakfast with Dalf: transition to Surrealism, the famous surrealist canvases for A tour expressly designed for children age 5 -12, followed by breakfast. Fee ($) and which he is best known, and examples of his preoccupation with preregistration required. religion and science during the period he called "nuclear mysticism." Call Monica Guerrero at (727) 823-3767, ext. 3024, or email at In addition to the 96 oil paintings, the collection includes over [email protected]. 100 watercolors and drawings, 1,300 graphics, photographs, sculptures and objets d'art, and an extensive archival library. FIRST WEDNESDAY EACH MONTH Frequent rotations of the collection and special exhibitions, 9:45 am Coffee with a Dalf Curator: mean our visitors view new work each time they visit. Enjoy coffee at 9:45 followed by a themed Gallery walk with a Dalf curator at 10 am. Free with the price of admission. Sponsored by Starbucks Coffee Company.

FIRST & THIRD THURSDAYS 6:00-8:00 pm: Dalf & Beyond Film series: Fans of unusual films will enjoy this bimonthly series. Free with the price of admission ($5 after 5:00 pm) Beer for sale; free refreshments. Seasonal Offerings: Spec al Events:

FRIDAYS IN JULY AND AUGUST, FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 5:00 pm-8:00 pm: S'Real Fridays 8:00 pm: Irritable Tribe of Poets: Dalf and the Women - Poetry & Music Music, Art, Films & Spirits! Spoken-word concert by legendary Tampa Bay area poets. Each Friday evening, July 11th - August 29th $5 with Dalf Museum Membership. $10 general admission; $8 for seniors/students. The Museum will stay open for happy hour and half-price admission. Free with Dalf Museum Membership. TUESDAY, JUNE 24 S'Real Fridays are sponsored by Bank of America. 6:00 - 8:00 pm: Wine & Song XI - Poetry and Wine Tasting Series Popular series of wine tastings and the celebration of Dalfs heritage through Spanish MONDAY, JUNE 23 - SATURDAY, JUNE 28 and Catalan poetry and song. MONDAY, JULY 21 - SATURDAY, JULY 26 Fee ($) and preticketing required-event sells out Call 1-866-440-7880. 9:30 am-12:30 pm: Junior Dalf Docents - Children's Summer Camp The Dalf Museum summer Jr. Docent Program is open to children 9 to 13 years of FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 age. The classes are held at the Museum. Two sessions to choose from. 8:00 pm: Venus in Fur - Concert Call Monica Guerrero at (727) 823-3767, ext. 3024. All-female "Velvet Underground-inspired rockers." Fee ($) per session and preregistration required. $5 with Dalf Museum Membership. $10 general admission; $8 for seniors/students.

MONDAY, JULY 7 - SATURDAY, JUNE 11 FRIDAY & SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19-20 9:30 am -12:30 pm: Dalf Teen Docents - Teen Summer Camp 6:30 - 8:00 pm: Emily Ricca Tango Demonstration - Family Dance Event The Dalf Museum summer Teen Docent program is open to teens 13 to 17 years of A lively demonstration of the complexity and passion of the tango. The performance age. Classes are held at the Museum.Fee ($) and preregistration required. will be repeated over two nights. Call Monica Guerrero at (727) 823-3767 ext. 3024. $5 with Dalf Museum Membership. $10 general admission; $8 for seniors/students.

SUNDAYS IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 1:45 pm: Spanish Language Tour 1:30 pm: Dance Performance - Family Dance & Music Event Take a tour of Women: Dalfs View with a specially trained Spanish-speaking In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we present TICH, the Taller Infantil docent. Free with the price of admission. Cultural Hispano Americano. This Hispanic children's ensemble performs folk dances from Venezuela, Colombia and other Latin American countries. The performance is free with the price of admission. Dalf Membership - the best way to enjoy the museum! Free daily admission, discounts on events and store merchandise and special invitations. Membership is the best, and most economical, way to enjoy the Dalf!

Membership Categories & Fees Individual Individual with NARM upgrade Student $35 Senior $35 Family $70 For additional, higher Family with NARM upgrade levels of support please Zodiac - Individual contact the Museum. Zodiac - Family Zodiac - Family with NARM upgrade $140 NARM - The North American Reciprocal Membership - entitles you to free admission to over 170 select museums throughout North America,

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Method of payment Checks payable to: Salvador Pali Museum, 1000 3rd St. S., St. Petersburg, FL, 33701 Venus with Drawers or pay with Bronze painted white with ermine pompoms. Lj Visa Q MC Q AMEX (J Discover 1936/1964 Salvador Dalf Museum Collection. No Exp. Sec. Code (3 digit) Women: Dolí's View is organized by Cover image: Three Young Surrealist the Salvador Dati Museum, curated Women Holding in Their Arms the Skins of by Joan Kropf ond Dirk Armstrong. an Orchestro, (detail) 1936 The exhibition wi/1 be on display Worldwide Rights: ©Salvador Dalí. Fundació Gala­ Salvador Dalí, Spain (Artist Rights Society) 2008. June 13-September 21, 2008. In the USA© Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc. St. Petersburg, Florida (2008)

Season Sponsor: Exhibition Sponsors: C) e:) � � OVAT I ON· Progress Energy llY JMC COMMUNITll:S �· � Northern Trust This guide was funded in part by the Pinellas County Commission through the Pinellas County Cultural .magazine Affairs Department's Cultural Development Grant Program.

The museum is sponsored in part by the City of St. Petersburg, the Pinellas County Cultural Affairs This document is posted publicly for non-profit Department, the State of Florida, educational uses, excluding printed Department of State, Division of publication. Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts To cite include the following: The Dali Council and the National Museum. Collection of The Dali Museum Library and Archives. Endowment for the Arts.

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