Spain Road Ways. Two on the Loose. Dan with down travels anywhere.: November 2012

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Figueres, Inside the Salvador Dali Theater Museum

Teatre Museu Dali.

Figueres, Spain

This institution is confusing for the non-Spanish speaker who expects an all-Dali emporium. There are interspersed among the Dali works, however, works of others. All focus on the same theme of surrealism, however, and are intended to ease the experience of Dali's world by seeing how broad that viewpoint indeed was. And his influence on it -- which came first? That is for more research. All the included displays are excellent on their own. Nonetheless -- figuring out which of our favorites here, that we photographed, are really Dali is taking time. We finally got off the internet and referred back to the saved programs/maps handouts from the Theater-Museum itself.

The museum is in two parts: The first is the area built on the ruins of a 19th Century theater destroyed in the Spanish Civil War. Dali himself designed this part. He is buried in the crypt under the stage. The line was so long we skipped it. And we were there just as the museum opened, in another long line.

Other Dali sites: The casa Museu Castell Gala Dali in La Pera, and Casa-Museu Salvador Dali in Cadaques, north of Roses, and we did not get to those, either. Then there is another museum in Barcelona.

The second area is a complex of 22 additional rooms around as the museum expanded. These contain works of others, including

Antoni Pitxot (painter and friend of Dali) in room 12, see http://spainartists.weebly.com/antoni-pitxot.html
Evarist Valles, see http://www.abclimited.org/fundacion_privada_evarist_valles/english/home.htm in room 8,
And Dali's collection of works of

Greco,
Fortuny,
Urgell,
Meissonier,
Duchamp,
Dou and
Bouguereau in room 14.

In other rooms are more works of Bouguereau, John de Andrea, Meifren, Ernst Fuchs, Silvere Godere, and Olivier Brice and others. This list is to help me identify what I especially liked. Am trying to look each one up.

Photos of favorites:

1. Salvador Dali. The Mae West installation, composed. Each component is free-standing, only showing the discernible whole when lined up from one angle.

Separately seen, for example, the lips look like a couch. See the virtual site at http://www.salvador-dali.org/museus/figueres/en_visita-virtual_4.html

Dali, Mae West, Salvador Dali Theatre-Museum, Figueres, Spain

2. Dragon and Egg, series, jewelry-like sculpture.

This sculpture does not appear to be on the list of works at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Salvador_Dal%C3%AD. Need to check at the Figueres site and any museum materials we brought back. Tracking specific works is difficult, see http://www.salvador-dali.org/museus/figueres/en_historia.html

Other internet sites also do not identify it, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/larryhalff/4050284471/

Dali Teatre-Museu, Dragon and Egg, Salvador Dali Theater-Museum, Figueres, Spain

3. Salvador Dali, Maquette for the Scenery for Labyrinth, see it identified at http://www.artwallpapers.org/paintings/Salvador-Dali/imagepages/image1112.htm. Painting, torso, heart. 1941. Ours here is clearer, shows better facial-cranial detail.

4. Sculpture composition, cross, hanging figures, barbed wire?

Cross composition, figures. Salvador Dali Theater-Museum, Figueres, Spain

5. Painter Evariste Valles -- see the theme of falling upholsterer-type tacks

Painting, Evariste Valles, Dali Theater-Museum, Figueres, Spain

6. Salvador Dali, Rainy Cadillac. 1941 car. This one rains inside when a coin is inserted, see http://www.theculturebite.com/tag/museums/ That was not happening when we were there. The earth-mother-warrior figure -- which is adulated the more. Or does the one lead to the other?