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Larger Image |
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Title |
Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. |
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Creator |
Dali, Salvador (Spanish painter and printmaker, 1904-1989) |
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Date |
1958-1959 |
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Cultural Context |
Spanish
European
Western European |
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Style/Period |
Surrealist
Modern (styles and periods)
Modernist |
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Subject |
Marines (Visual works)
Symbols
Allusions
Discovery & exploration
Catholicism
Christianity
Portraits
Self-portraits
Men
Women
Spouses
Nudes
Explorers
Saints
Crucifixes
Crosses
Spears
Banners
Flags
Standards (Identifying artifacts)
Military standards
Ships
Sailing ships
Boats
Shadows
Cliffs
Coastlines |
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Description |
"Dali and Gala had every reason to be grateful to America, which had showered them with dollars. Here, as Columbus, the painter kneels on the shore, holding aloft a silver crucifix. Gala appears once more as Virgin Mary, on the banner." (Caption); "Uppermost in Dali's mind while he painted it was the approaching tercentenary, in 1960, of the death of Vellázquez. The standards that fill the right side of the vast work (410 x 284 cm) echo the twenty-eight lances in The Surrender of Breda, and Dali said that the hole in the centre of the upper sail of Columbus's ship was a reference to that of the key in Velázquez's painting - the key to Breda that is handed by Justinus of Nassau, the Flemish leader, to the Spanish conquerors. […] Dali was convinced, or convinced himself that he was convinced, that Columbus was not only a Catalan but from Girona. There are allusions to Girona in the canvas, therefore, the town being symbolized by its patron, Saint Narcissus, who can be seen at the bottom left of the work. The presence of the cliffs of Creus in the upper left-hand corner could be similarly justified (if Dali needed any such justification). Isidor Bea, seen from behind, was the model for the saint, an acknowledgement, no doubt, of the vital part he was playing in the production of this and other similarly large-scale canvases. […] Since the Spaniards took Catholicism to the New World, the theme of the 'Discovery' enabled Dali to include yet another portrait of Gala in the role of the Virgin Mary, this time figuring on a banner as the Immaculate Conception. Dali also quoted once more The Christ of Saint John of the Cross, and he himself is the balding and moustachioed personage who kneels on the shore holding aloft a heavy silver crucifix. Dali and Gala had every reason to be grateful to America, of course. It had showered them with dollars, and, with commissions like this, was continuing to do so. […] The previous summer in Port Lligat, Reynolds Morse had had the 'temerity' to object that the sea urchin in the foreground of the picture surrounded by rings was too ponderous and should be left out. Dali was extremely irritated by the remark. There could be no question of removing it! […] When the painting went on show Dali explained that the pear shape of the ringed urchin alluded to the earth as seen from the American spaceship Explorer, and symbolized 'nuclear science'. Some years later he went further and boasted that the urchin heralded the launching of the first satellite two years afterwards. Eleanor Morse decided in 1971 that Dali had taken literally John Kennedy's promise that America would land a man on the moon within a decade, and that the sea urchin was an advance celebration of the great event that was to occur on 21 June 1969. But, even if she was right, this does not make the painting prophetic, merely opportunistic." (Excerpts, pp.543-544) |
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People Pictured |
Dalí, Salvador, 1904-1989
Dalí, Gala
Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint
Columbus, Christopher |
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Location Depicted |
Creus, Cape (Spain)
Gerona (Spain : Province)
Catalonia (Spain)
Spain
America |
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Material |
Oil on canvas
Oil paint (pigmented coating)
Paint
Canvas |
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Measurements |
410 x 284 cm |
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Technique |
Oil painting (technique)
Painting (image-making) |
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Work Type |
Oil paintings
Paintings |
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Repository |
Salvador Dalí Foundation Museum (St. Petersburg, Florida) |
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Source |
Gibson, Ian. The Shameful Life of Salvador Dali. New York; London: W.W. Norton, 1998. (Color plate XXXVII) |
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Rights |
Photograph reproduced in Gibson courtesy: © 1998 Salvador Dali Museum, Inc. |
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Digital Publisher |
University of Louisville Department of Fine Arts/Allen R. Hite Art Institute Visual Resources Center |
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Format |
image/jpeg |
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Digital File Name |
VRC 2447-29.jpg |
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Rating |
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