Thyssen-Bornemisza Explores Dalí's Freudian Obsession in Major Retrospective
From October 20, 2026, to January 24, 2027, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid will host an exhibition that explores Salvador Dalí's artistic journey through the lens of Sigmund Freud's theories. This showcase features around 130 pieces, divided into six segments that outline Dalí's life and the impact of Freudian thought. Dalí's fascination with Freud started in the early 1920s and reached its peak with a meeting in 1938. The exhibition presents works by Dalí alongside pieces by artists such as Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Federico García Lorca. Important themes include his familial roots, the emergence of Surrealism, his time in Paris, the paranoiac-critical method, the London encounter with Freud, and later works that embody Freudian concepts.
Key facts
- Exhibition dates: October 20, 2026 – January 24, 2027, at Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.
- Approximately 130 works are included: paintings, drawings, sculptures, and videos from European and North American institutions.
- The show is divided into six chronological sections, each addressing a decisive chapter in Dalí's biography.
- Dalí read Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams in the early 1920s at the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid.
- Dalí and Freud met in London in 1938, a pivotal moment for the exhibition.
- The exhibition includes works by Ingres, Severini, Arp, Schwitters, García Lorca, Tanguy, Ramón y Cajal, and Freud.
- The paranoiac-critical method is explored in the fourth section with about thirty works.
- The final section covers Dalí's later career, including ballet designs and religious works, up to 1960.
Entities
Artists
- Salvador Dalí
- Sigmund Freud
- Stefan Zweig
- Edward James
- Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
- Gino Severini
- Jean Arp
- Kurt Schwitters
- Federico García Lorca
- Yves Tanguy
- Santiago Ramón y Cajal
- Ana Maria Dalí
- Luis Buñuel
- André Breton
- Gala Eluard
- Carmen Laffón
- Robert Rauschenberg
- Andy Warhol
- Jackson Pollock
- Estrella de Diego
- Arnold Böcklin
- Max Ernst
- Jean-François Millet
- Pablo Picasso
- Julio Romero de Torres
- Jaime Brihuega
- Leticia de Cos
- Juan Ángel López-Manzanares
- William Jeffett
- Dawn Ades
- Ignacio Gómez de Liaño
- Ian Gibson
- Juan José Lahuerta
- Alyce Mahon
- Elliot King
- Anna Maria Dalí
Institutions
- Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
- Residencia de Estudiantes
- Fundación Gala-Salvador Dalí
- Iladart
- Plataforma de Arte Contemporáneo
- Residencia de Estudiantes de Madrid
- Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí
- Museu de Montserrat
- Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University
- The Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Lempertz
- Comunidad de Madrid
- Ayuntamiento de Madrid
- Natixis
- Museum of Modern Art
- Museum of Montserrat
Locations
- Madrid
- Spain
- Figueres
- Cadaqués
- Cap de Creus
- London
- United Kingdom
- Paris
- France
- New York
- United States
- Portlligat
- Catalonia
- Brussels
- Belgium
- Florence
- Italy
- Figueras