Dali Museum in St Petersburg, Florida

 

 

A gorgeous museum, with art a well told tale, bringing the colorful pieces of Dali’s incredible life.  Maybe you’ve seen some of his paintings. No matter what you’ve seen, there are so many more pieces to astonish and enthrall available here organized from his early work to his later creative passions.   

 

But, let’s take you back to the start, from his birth and death in Figueres, Spain, north of Barcelona. His brother, who was born in 1901 and died in 1903, before Dali was born, played an interesting part. When Dali was five, his parents took him to see his brother’s grave and convinced him he was his brother’s reincarnation. It followed him forever, and even wove into his art.

                            Obviously Dali's thought of what his brother might have looked like. 

 

Salvador Dali (full name: Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dali Domenech, (May 11, 1904 to January 23, 1989) was a man passionate about art of every form. He was one of those artists who can quickly be bypassed if you let yourself judge by just a couple of his surrealist paintings. To know his art, you need to dig deeper, get to know the man, linger among his paintings of different genres, discover his life, a continuing progress, beginning with paintings from when he was thirteen.  In that early age, his paintings are not only traditional but beautiful.

 

Self Portrait by the 13 year old Dali

 

Dali's sister, painted when he was 18.

 

Painted when he was 21

You might say Dali became his art.  Quirky for sure. Some of his friends said they couldn’t decide if he was really crazy or faking it.  I think he was faking, but looking at his art you might go either way. Was art his personality or was his personality his art?

 

He was able to attend the major art school in Madrid. He did well, but when it came to graduation and taking the face-to-face examination, he refused, saying he knew more about art than the professors. That bothered his father, of course, but artists are artists, making their way in their own fashion, unlike professors looking for students whose intentions are getting good grades and staying within the traditional bounds. 

 

Dali certainly followed his own trail and in 1926 his yearning took him to Paris. Paris in the twenties were the golden years. The First World War was over and a decade of art sprang forth.  Not only Dali, but Picasso, Chagall, Modigliani, and many more artists found new, independent trails of art, Cubism, Surrealism, Dadaism. Other creative realms blossomed, such as big-name authors like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, James Joyce.

Can you pick out the matador and crocodile? Look closely.

 

 Just a few more paintings.

Different art and designs always spring out of artistic imaginations, spilling into music, clothes, jewelry, fashions, cars, architecture. Many of the same names bounded their way into the twentieth century. Meanwhile, Dali continued to paint, discovering and wandering into more and different art forms. As you walk through the museum you will find his jewelry, telephones, furniture, and sculpture.

Notice the breasts, stomach, and knee are all drawers.

Wandering through the Dali Museum I found the soul of the man and his amazing artistic journey. Take your time, a lot of time. Every step you take will amaze you.

 

As a side note: the museum was designed by architect Yann Weymouth while he was with the firm HOK. Dali would be proud.