Art Press Analyzes Dalí's Nude Self-Portraits
Art Press issue 24 (February-March-April 2012) examines Salvador Dalí's self-portraiture through a 1933 photograph and his 1954 painting 'Dalí Nude in Contemplation Before Five Regular Bodies Metamorphosed into Corpuscles, in Which Suddenly Appears Léda Chromosomatized by the Face of Gala.' The photograph shows a nude 29-year-old Dalí with a phallic sculpture obscuring his body, playing on his proclaimed impotence. The painting, created at age 50, features a disguised sex organ—a sea urchin levitation that both conceals and invites closer inspection, referencing Aristotle's lantern. Dalí distances himself from a large dog penis borrowed from a painting of Saint Cucuphat's decapitation. The analysis suggests the fissured hole may represent the anus, implying Dalí is showing his ass while pretending to paint Léda.
Key facts
- Art Press issue 24 published in February-March-April 2012.
- Photograph of Dalí taken in 1933 when he was 29 years old.
- Dalí painted 'Dalí Nude in Contemplation Before Five Regular Bodies Metamorphosed into Corpuscles, in Which Suddenly Appears Léda Chromosomatized by the Face of Gala' in 1954.
- The painting's title is described as disproportionate.
- Dalí proclaimed his impotence publicly.
- The dog penis in the painting is borrowed from a work depicting Saint Cucuphat's decapitation.
- The sea urchin in the painting is compared to a mouth with hair/spines.
- The analysis suggests the painting may depict an anus.
Entities
Artists
- Salvador Dalí
- Gala Dalí
Institutions
- Art Press
Sources
- artpress —