Description

Salvador Dali Original Study for ‘the Elephants’

Genuine and authentic rough ink study by Salvador Dali

Study in order to prepare the painting bearing the same name

Artwork has the Dali signature (kind of monogram) bottom left

Size : 25 x 15 cm

The elephant is a recurring theme in the works of Dalí, first appearing in his 1944 work ‘Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening’, and also in ‘The Temptation of Saint Anthony’ and ‘Swans Reflecting Elephants’. The Elephants differs from the other paintings in that the animals are the primary focus of the work, with a barren graduated background and lack of other content, where most of Dalí’s paintings contain much detail and points of interest (for example Swans Reflecting Elephants which is somewhat better known within Dalí’s repertoire than The Elephants). The stork-legged elephant is one of the best-known icons of Dalí’s work. Other examples are The space elephant (made of gold and gemstones) that Salvador Dalí designed in 1961 and the homonymous sculpture created in 1980.

There are various cultural depictions of elephants, where they are often viewed as symbols of strength, dominance and power due to their bulk and weight. Dalí contrasts these typical associations by giving the elephants long, spindly, almost arachnid-like legs, once described as “multijointed, almost invisible legs of desire”. Dalí enhances the appearance of strength and weight by depicting the elephants carrying massive obelisks on their backs, however, on close inspection it can be seen that these weights are floating. The obelisks on the backs of the elephants are believed to be inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk, and was mentioned in several communications of the artist, so can be considered a reliable claim.

The Elephants is a good example of a surrealist work, creating a sense of phantom reality. “The elephant is a distortion in space”, one critic[who?] explains, “its spindly legs contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure”; “contrasting weight and space”.

Drawing is in absolute mint condition

Comes with COA and back-up documents from the Sidney Janis Gallery, New York

Information on Salvador Dali

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquess of Dalí de Púbol (11 May 1904 – 23 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship and the striking and bizarre images in his work.

Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Dalí received his formal education in fine arts at Madrid. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age, he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements. He moved closer to Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its leading exponents. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931 and is one of the most famous Surrealist paintings. Dalí lived in France throughout the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) before leaving for the United States in 1940 where he achieved commercial success. He returned to Spain in 1948 where he announced his return to the Catholic faith and developed his “nuclear mysticism” style, based on his interest in classicism, mysticism and recent scientific developments.

Dalí’s artistic repertoire included painting, graphic arts, film, sculpture, design and photography, at times in collaboration with other artists. He also wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays and criticism. Major themes in his work include dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science and his closest personal relationships. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric and ostentatious public behaviour often drew more attention than his artwork. His public support for the Francoist regime, his commercial activities and the quality and authenticity of some of his late works have also been controversial. His life and work were an important influence on other Surrealists, pop artists and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. There are two major museums devoted to his work: The Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain and the Salvador Dalí Museum in Florida.

Excerpt of an article in the New York Times in 1970 after his appearance on the Dick Cavett Show: ‘Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in 1931. Dalí’s expansive artistic repertoire includes film, sculpture, and photography, in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media. Dalí was highly imaginative and also had an affinity for partaking in unusual and grandiose behaviour. His eccentric manner and attention-grabbing public actions sometimes drew more attention than his artwork to the dismay of those who held his work in high esteem and to the irritation of his critics.

Dalí employed extensive symbolism in his work. For instance, the hallmark “soft watches” that first appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein’s theory that time is relative and not fixed. The elephant is also a recurring image in Dalí’s works. It first appeared in his 1944 work Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The egg is another common Dalíesque image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love. Various animals appear throughout his work as well: ants point to death, decay, and immense sexual desire; the snail is connected to the human head; and locusts are a symbol of waste and fear.’

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