Permanent exhibition of Salvador Dalí presented in Madrid

Madrid. The historic Gaviria Palace in Madrid, which has been closed to the public since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, will now be the space in which a selection of sculptures and drawings by Salvador Dalí, one of the precursors of surrealism and a very popular artist, will be permanently exhibited. The exhibition Salvador Dali infinite It allows you to see up to 14 large-format sculptures throughout the labyrinthine palace, among them some very important in the artist’s career, such as Elephant cosmic, Naked woman climbing ladder, Laughing horse head, Christ of Saint John of the Cross, Housekeeper y Soul of Don Quixote.

Dalí (Figueras, 1904-1989) was one of the most eccentric artists of the European avant-garde and always had a special fondness for the old nineteenth-century palaces of the decadent upper bourgeoisie. In fact, his house-museum is in the palace that he himself bought to convert into his home and that after his death houses a large amount of his artistic work, at least that which is not in the rooms of the great European and American museums.

Dalí’s work can be seen above all in Catalonia and in Madrid, in the Reina Sofía Museum of Contemporary Art, where a good part of his most important pieces and references of the surrealist movement are found. But until now in the Spanish capital there was no place dedicated exclusively to this painter, who continues to enjoy immense popularity among art fans.

The Gaviria Palace will house a significant number of sculptures and drawings from the Clot collection and some pieces also from the Dalí Foundation, among them several conceived during one of Dalí’s most mature and experimental stages, which show the evolution of his plastic language towards forms that combine technical precision with his dreamlike freedom.

Ros Perales, curator of the permanent exhibition, explained that “each sculpture constitutes an exercise in virtuosity that underlines the versatility of an artist who never stopped exploring new means of expression. The exhibition stands out for a set of 14 sculptures that were conceived by Dalí starting in 1973 and of which some extensions were made under his authorization. They are pieces little known to the general public, with varied themes and loaded with cultural references that reveal a moment of intense formal and intellectual experimentation. and that reflect his dreamlike-surrealist trajectory, in which references to artistic movements, universal authors, literature, religion and science can be seen.”

Some of the most notable sections are those dedicated to three other geniuses of art, such as Dante Alighieri and his Divide ComedyMiguel de Cervantes and his mythical character Don Quixote of La Mancha, and The three-cornered hat, by Manuel de Falla. Gala, his muse and companion, is also present through a series of drawings and a sculpture.

The curator explained the reasons why a series of pieces related to the Catholic Church and the crucified Christ were also included in the exhibition. “Dalí explored redemption and Catholic mysticism from a perspective that combined science, faith and classical iconography, generating deeply symbolic images linked to his own spiritual reconversion. The artist explored Catholic redemption through a fusion of mysticism, science and faith, seeking divine beauty rather than suffering. As a reflection of his own process, he recreated iconic images that linked him to his own conversion: Adam and Eve, as the beginning of everything, and Saint John the Baptist like what is to come.”

The exhibition also shows a series of photographs taken by Jacques Leonard, a French photographer based in Barcelona and a close friend of Dalí, who made up to three major reports throughout his life, one of them unpublished and of which some images are included.