26. Venus with the Giraffe

Salvador Dali, one of the most avid promoters of the surrealist movement in art, was deeply influenced by Sigmund Freud's theories on the latent manifestation of dreams. He incorporated these concepts into many of his works, gradually transposing them into paintings, sculptures, or films. The fluidity of the genres and techniques he approached brought Dali near to a theme long promoted in art: divinity. The revisitation of classical art and its transposition into contemporaneity was achieved through the surrealist means the artist had at his disposal. In 1936, Dali completed the creation of "Venus de Milo with Drawers", intended to be a reinterpretation of the original work in the Louvre. This creation represented an act of consciousness revolution, by transforming the ancient goddess of love and beauty into an anthropomorphic piece of furniture. In an interview, the artist declared that the drawers facilitated the possibility of penetrating inside the goddess's body, towards her soul. Dali revisited this motif later, successfully concluding the concept of the current work. It was produced in a limited number - 1000 copies - by the Venuri Arte Bologna foundry. In the present work, the artist separates the head from the body through an intentional device: replacing the goddess's neck with an intensely elongated giraffe one. This version, like the one from 1936, receives a drawer intended to reveal the inner content of the being with divine origin. Paradoxically, the juxtaposition of the animal motif to the deity contributes to the creation of unexpected harmony and unquestionable balance.

References

SOBY, James Thrall, "Salvador Dali", The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1941.

Dimensions

depth 26 cm, width 9 cm, height 57 cm

Description

bronz argintat, signed on the side, at the base, "Dali"; numbered and foundry mentioned, at the base, "Cast by Venturi Arte Bologna-Italy, 332/1000"

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