The Dalí Theatre-Museum
ROOM 11. MAE WEST ROOM
This room is the three-dimensional representation of American actress Mae West’s face, converted into a living room complete with lips-sofa. The project was undertaken with the architect Oscar Tusquets and the collaboration of the architectural technician Pedro Aldàmiz. Dalí designed this three-dimensional room based on a work he had made in 1934, the gouache on newspaper collage ‘Mae West’s Face Used as an Apartment’, on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.
People queuing to visit the first large European retrospective of Dalí’s work, held at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam from 21 November 1970 to 10 January 1971. Dalí loved queues, especially when they formed outside his Theatre-Museum.
WOMAN-ANIMAL SYMBIOSIS, 1928
Oil paint, sand, shells and gravel on cardboard. This piece dates from 1928, the year in which Dalí signed the ‘Yellow Manifesto’ with Sebastià Gasch and Lluís Montanyà. The publication of this Catalan anti-artistic manifesto was a harsh criticism of conventional art. Dalí was increasingly being drawn towards surrealism. [Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/226/woman-animal-symbiosis?paraulaClau=symbiosis)
THE SPECTRE OF SEX-APPEAL, c. 1934
A small surrealist piece that Dalí painted with an extremely fine brush. Framed by a hyperrealist landscape of Cap de Creus, Dalí appears as a child wearing a sailor suit, gazing up at an enormous monster, a surrealist spectre that is both soft and hard, which to him represented sexuality, one of his anxieties.[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/338/the-spectre-of-sex-appeal?paraulaClau=appeal)
SALIVA-SOFA
If you are at home, you can put on some bright red lipstick and plant a kiss onto a sheet of white paper, then use this imprint to make a surrealist portrait.
SOFT SELF PORTRAIT WITH GRILLED BACON, 1941
How did you guess that it was Dalí’s face? Exactly! Because of his moustache
BABAOUO, 1932
A wooden box with seven panes of glass painted by the artist in its interior, placed one behind the other and lit from the back based on a screenplay Dalí wrote for the film Babaouo in 1932. The iconography is related to certain sequences of the film project.[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Sculpture and Three-dimensional Work: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-sculpture/obra/bcc503b642ece411947100155d647f0b/babaouo)
BUST OF SIGMUND FREUD
If you’re in the museum, you’ll have to look up to find it!
ROOM 5. THE FISHMONGERS’ ROOM
This gallery contains a series of pieces by Dalí from different periods and in various styles. It is called The Fishmongers’ Room because for many years after the war this space housed Figueres’ fish market.
RETROSPECTIVE BUST OF A WOMAN, 1976-1977
Unique original example of ‘Retrospective Bust of a Woman’ of 1933, one of Salvador Dalí’s first object-sculptures. Bronze and assemblage of various objects. Dalí, in his provocative way, contributed to surrealism with objects that evoke desire, sex and disturbance.[Further information about the ‘Retrospective Bust of a Woman” of 1933 in our Catalogue Raisonné of Sculptures and Three-dimensional Work by Salvador Dalí: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-sculpture/obra/60eab9bd42ece411947100155d647f0b/retrospective-bust-of-a-woman)
ROOM 2. COURTYARD
This space used to be the stalls area of Figueres’ former municipal theatre. The walls are original, and you can still see the charred remains of the beams that supported the box where the public sat. Dalí turned it into an open-air surrealist space.
SOFT SELF PORTRAIT WITH GRILLED BACON, 1941
Self-portrait with a soft, amorphous face and ants, supported by crutches. The figure sits upon a pedestal showing the title of the work and, lying on top, there is a strip of grilled bacon, symbolising organic matter, and at the same time, Dalí’s daily breakfast at the Saint Regis Hotel in New York. [Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/505/soft-self-portrait-with-grilled-bacon?paraulaClau=bacon)
CUPOLA
The geodesic dome, reticulated and transparent, was designed by the Spanish architect Emilio Pérez Piñero, and is a nod to the domes of the Italian Renaissance. It has become a symbol of the museum and, by extension, of the city of Figueres.'Start the house with the roof, just as the great architects of the Renaissance did, who imagined what the cupola would be like before all else.' Salvador Dalí
And you, what do you think it could be?
"GROTESQUE" MONSTERS, 1975
Monsters created in collaboration with Dalí’s friend, the painter Antoni Pitxot. These fantastical creatures are made from gargoyles from the church of Sant Pere of Figueres, stones from Cap de Creus, branches pruned from plane trees on La Rambla, drawers from an old piece of furniture from Figueres Town Hall, an old fountain, snails, shells, etc. The figures were inspired by the Park of the Monsters in Bomarzo, close to Rome, which fascinated Dalí.
BEETHOVEN’S HEAD, 1973
For this piece, Dalí used a mixed technique created with octopus ink and red chalk on paper. The artist threw live octopuses onto a sheet of paper placed on the floor and created this portrait of the German composer Beethoven using the ink stains. You can also see footprints made by the espadrilles Dalí often wore, which he used to say that he created this work using his feet.
THE BASKET OF BREAD, 1945
A classic, almost hyperrealist painting in which Dalí demonstrates his technical mastery. Painted in the USA over a period of two months, at the rate of four hours a day, he completed it the day before the Second World War ended. Bread is one of the oldest and most frequently recurring symbols in the artist’s iconography.‘TO BECOME CLASSIC! [...] Now or never! ’ Salvador Dalí‘This typically realist work is the one that has most satisfied my imagination. ’ Salvador Dalí[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/607/the-basket-of-bread?paraulaClau=the+basket+of+bread)
PORTRAIT OF MY FATHER, 1920
In Cadaqués at the age of sixteen, Dalí painted this portrait of his father, Salvador Dalí Cusí, Figueres’ notary. He was an impulsive and authoritarian figure, an intellectual and great lover of culture and art. A close friend of the Pitxot family and Figueres’ intellectual set, Dalí’s father and his friends were the young artist’s first admirers. [Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/55/portrait-of-my-father?paraulaClau=portrait+of+my+father)
UPSIDE-DOWN BATHROOM
Provocative Dalinian installation on the ceiling of the Mae West Room. Another inversion of reality.
PARADISE
Installation hidden behind Mae West’s eyes. Looking through the peepholes one discovers a surrealist paradise. This piece references Marcel Duchamp’s ‘Étant donnés’ and is also a nod to the ‘Dream of Venus’ pavilion Dalí created in 1939 for the New York World’s Fair.
PORTRAIT OF PICASSO (MOI AUSSI, J'AI CONNU L'EMPEREUR), 1970
Portrait paying homage to Pablo Picasso, who he draws wearing the glorious laurels of a Roman emperor, as Dalí confirms in his own writing in the same piece, which also includes a small ink drawing.
VENUS DE MILO WITH DRAWERS, 1964
Example of the bronze edition of the sculpture Venus de Milo with Drawers. Dalí created this sculpture in plaster in 1936, and later in 1964 a bronze version was made. Venus is a recurring classical element in Dalí’s work. The drawers form part of his surrealist iconography. Dalí explained that ‘With the addition of the drawers it is possible to look inside the body of the Venus de Milo to the soul: Thus Dalí creates a Freudian and Christian appearance in the Greek civilization.’[Further information about the ‘Venus de Milo with Drawers’ of 1936 in our Catalogue Raisonné of Sculptures and Three-dimensional Work by Salvador Dalí:](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-sculpture/obra/66eab9bd42ece411947100155d647f0b/venus-de-milo-with-drawers)
Can you see these objects? What do they look like to you? Correct! They are loaves of bread. Three-cornered loaves! Bread is one of Dalí’s favourite symbols. The painter decorated the outside of the Galatea Tower of his museum with lots of bread. Look at the photo!
Collage-fan designed by French model and actress Amanda Lear, under Dalí’s guidance. The design features two photographs of Gala.
WHEN IT FALLS, IT FALLS, c. 1972
Dalí acquired this still life in the Flemish style and transformed it with his own additions, thereby ‘Dalífying’ it. It is an homage to the Catalan philosopher Francesc Pujols. The title is taken from a quote by Pujols that Dalí wrote on the painting: “cuant* cau, cau”, which is the conclusion of a philosophical text Dalí was particularly interested in. *[sic]‘Instead of being a collage it is an oil panting transformed by me’[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/1042/when-it-falls-it-falls?paraulaClau=falls)
GALARINA, 1945
Notice Dalí’s signature. In this painting, as in many others, Dalí signs ‘Gala Salvador Dalí’. He was the one who painted this piece but signing it with both their names is a lovely way to acknowledge Gala and thank her for everything she meant to him.
Art Deco-style mannequins, all of which have their arms in different positions, welcoming visitors to the museum.
EAGLE OF VALLS
The Eagle of Valls, donated by the 'Xiquets de Valls', a group of 'castellers' (the popular human towers). An example of Salvador Dalí’s appreciation of and interest in elements of Catalan popular and festive culture. Dalí placed the head of a Chinese man in the opening at the centre of the eagle’s chest.
Did you notice that the column holding up the boat is made of tyres?
LEDA ATOMICA, 1947-1949
Look carefully at all the elements in the painting and you will see that they are floating... Is it possible? Even the sea is hanging in the air, almost as if we could lift it up and see what’s underneath! Surrealist!
[Discover our Temporary Exhibitions: ](https://exhibitions.salvador-dali.org/en/)
PORT ALGUER, c. 1923
The Dalí family spent their summer holidays in the fishing village of Cadaqués, 34 km from Figueres. For the young Dalí, this place meant light and freedom. Cadaqués and the landscape of Cap de Creus would continue to inspire the artist throughout his entire life. This lifelong attraction is evidenced by the fact that in 1930 Dalí, together with Gala, built his home and studio in Portlligat, a small cove beside Cadaqués. Nineteen-year-old Dalí, still learning and experimenting, painted the sea with impressionist brushstrokes and structured the whitewashed houses and church in a cubist way. `‘I have had a delicious summer, like all of them, in the perfect and dreamlike town of Cadaqués. There, close to the Latin sea, I have been imbued with light and colour. I have spent the hot summer days painting frenetically and making every effort to translate the incomparable beauty of the sea and the sunny beach.’ Salvador Dalí [Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/140/port-alguer?paraulaClau=port+alguer)
See how Dalí once again plays at altering a face, as we have already seen in the Mae West Room.
A poster that Dalí designed for the French national lottery in 1972, over which he superimposed the oil painting ‘The Face of Fortune’. Dalí’s advertising work was also very productive and interesting.[Discover the TV commercials Dalí made here:](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/dali/dali-film-library/anuncis-publicitaris/)
Underneath the white slab in the middle of the stage lies the tomb of Salvador Dalí. He died on 23 January 1989 and, in accordance with his last wishes, he is buried inside his museum.
ROOM 19. LOGGIA
This room is devoted to visual games and optical illusions, which Dalí had loved since he was a child. The gallery combines artistic technique with the latest cutting-edge technology.
THE PALACE OF THE WIND, 1970-1973
The ceiling also reminds us of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, although it is not a fresco. In his studio in Portlligat, Dalí painted five canvases which were later glued to the ceiling. The central figures, the stars, are Dalí and Gala surrounded by dozens of little details, memories and allusions to their life and work.[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/859/the-palace-of-the-wind?paraulaClau=PALACE)[Look for a nude woman tossing gold coins and discover the story behind this character in this video: ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VWOgt9ZJts)
EL POLL I LA PUÇA
('The Louse and the Flea'). Surrealist installation paying homage to two characters from Dalí’s childhood in Figueres who played the barrel organ in the city streets —not particularly well, by all accounts— in return for a few coins.
BABAOUO, 1932
Look carefully at the characters that appear in ‘Babaouo’. You can also find them in another cinema project that was never eventually made, ‘Destino’, a collaboration between Salvador Dalí and Walt Disney.[Find further information about the Destino project at: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/dali/dali-film-library/films-and-video-art/2/destino)
Would you like to get inside the Cadillac? It’s a very well-protected place that’s hard to access, but if you manage to do it, you’ll discover a new world!Clue 1. Click on the spot next to the door and see if it opens..once it opens try to go inside. Clue 2: Look at the museum in dollhouse view and find the courtyard. Can you see the Cadillac from above? Click on the orange area on top of the car and cross your fingers! If you managed to do it, take a photo of the screen and sharit on Instagram with the hashtag #CadillacDalíChallenge. Don’t forget to tag @museudali and we will publish your photos! If you still can’t get into the Cadillac, there is a shortcut: You can get in by clicking the arrow button (open highlights) at the bottom left of the screen!
THE SPECTRE OF SEX-APPEAL, c. 1934
Look carefully at the little boy in a sailor suit: it’s Dalí as a child! The artist often painted himself like this in his pictures. Explore the other works in the museum and online in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings and see if you can find more little Dalís!
THE HEAD OF FORTUNA WITH TEASPOON NECK
A lamp with the Art Nouveau head of the goddess Fortuna who, blindfolded, rises towards the ceiling with a neck resembling a curling streamer made of teaspoons, crowned by lace-up espadrilles. This piece pays homage to the poet from Granada Federico García Lorca, whose favourite Catalan word was ‘cullereta’ (teaspoon), because of the way it sounded.
A mask created by Dalí for the Rothschild’s Surrealist Ball in 1972. It has four faces: two with Dadaist versions of the ‘Mona Lisa’ with moustache and goatee, a third with a portrait of Helen Rothschild and the fourth for the face of the person wearing the mask.
CUPOLA
Did you know that Dalí loved flies? Which part of a fly does the dome remind you of? Exactly, it looks like a fly’s eye, which can see many different realities at the same time! That’s why Dalí was so fascinated by flies!'The clean flies of Portlligat that walk around the backs of the olive tree leaves are dressed as if by Balenciaga, they are beautiful and marvellous.' Salvador Dalí
ROOM 15. PALACE OF THE WIND
The foyer of the former theatre where Dalí, at the age of just fourteen, held his first exhibition of paintings. He called it ‘The Palace of the Wind’ in allusion to verses the poet Joan Maragall wrote in homage to the Empordà region and ‘tramuntana’ wind.
Look at his moustache... It is Dalí’s emblem, his most recognisable feature. He loved playing with it.
RAINY TAXI
Surprise! Have you noticed where it’s raining? And where the umbrella has been opened? It’s an upside-down world! The Cadillac wouldn’t fit through the doors... Can you guess how they got it into the courtyard?
"BUST OF VELÁZQUEZ TURNING INTO ...
... THREE FIGURES CONVERSING, 1974"Homage to the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez, who Dalí revered as a master. He painted over a bronze sculpture with oils, reproducing ‘Las Meninas’ on the forehead, turning the eyes into two gentlemen and the ears into armchairs, while the nose, moustache and beard portray a nun kneeling in prayer with her back to us.
Can you see the Eiffel Tower? That’s right, in Mae West’s right eye!
POETRY OF AMERICA, 1943
Oil painting created during the American period. The composition is classical, Renaissance, but, at the same time, Dalí gives us a glimpse of the pop art of the future by painting the first Coca-Cola bottle in art history.[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/577/poetry-of-america?paraulaClau=america)Further information about this painting: [https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/breaking-news/monographic-dali-raphael/educational-itinerary-dali-rafael/](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/breaking-news/monographic-dali-raphael/educational-itinerary-dali-rafael/)
CYBERNETIC PRINCESS
Funerary heart with printed circuits that aim to emulate that of the articulated jade panels of Princess Tou Wan. The princess is surrounded by a folding screen covered in silk and with oriental motifs.
[Look at the sacks hanging from the ceiling and discover the story behind them: ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4DNt8F6MQI)
GALA NUDE LOOKING AT THE SEA WHICH AT 18 METRES APPEARS ...
...THE PRESIDENT LINCOLN, c. 1975"Surprise! There are two images in the same painting. Gala, nude, seen from behind, but from a distance, by half closing our eyes, suddenly a portrait of Abraham Lincoln appears! If you are in the museum, look at the painting through your mobile phone. It’s amazing: you’ll see US president Lincoln’s face even more clearly!
ROOM 10-16-17. CORRIDOR
Corridor in which we find some very diverse works and stunning views over the courtyard and stage area. Of particular interest are the three surrealist display cases.
SALIVA-SOFA
Mae West’s full red lips are turned into a lips-sofa, the ‘Saliva-Sofa’, as Dalí called it.
Salvador Dalí photographed by Marc Lacroix in Portlligat in 1974, the same year the Dalí Theatre-Museum opened.
This was the boat which Dalí and, above all, Gala used to go sailing in Portlligat (close to Cadaqués, 34 km from Figueres)
GEOLOGICAL ECHO (AFTER “PIETÀ” BY MICHELANGELO), c. 1982
A painting from Salvador Dalí’s last period, in which Gala’s decline becomes increasingly evident (in fact, she died the same year this painting was made). Dalí’s piece is, understandably, melancholic and sad, borrowing Michelangelo’s iconography. The title, ‘Geological Echo’, refers to the shape of Christ’s nose, which is repeated in the form of rock, creating an echo of the image.[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/962/geological-echo?paraulaClau=geological)
The enormous backdrop that dominates the stage area is called 'Labyrinth'. It was created from an oil painting that Dalí made for the ballet of the same name, based on the Greek myth of Theseus and Ariadne and first performed at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in 1941. The sets and costumes were designed by Dalí.
Why not try making your own collage at home. It doesn’t have to be on a fan!
Situated near the top of the walls of the former theatre, Dalí imagined that these washbasins (originally made by the brand Roca) were angels. Impure angels being punished by the rain and wind; once purified, we find them at the foot of the museum’s dome.
BUST OF SIGMUND FREUD
Homage to Sigmund Freud and his interpretation of dreams. Dalí and the surrealists based their work on Freud’s ideas. Salvador Dalí managed to arrange an interview with Sigmund Freud in 1938 in London.
CYBERNETIC PRINCESS
Surprise! ‘Cybernetic Princess’ is another interactive piece. If you are in the museum, put a coin in the slot and watch what happens. But remember to look up!
ROOM 4. THE TREASURE ROOM
This gallery used to be the dressing room of the former theatre. Dalí had it upholstered in red velvet, because he pictured it as a jewellery box. Dalí himself chose the works to be exhibited here. The paintings he decided to hang in this room represent his favourite jewels.
GALARINA, 1945
A classic and very realistic portrait of Gala. The painter called this piece ‘Galarina’ in a play on words that pays homage to Raphael and his muse ‘Fornarina’. Gala was Russian, ten years older than Dalí, and a bold, active woman who was also highly cultured and passionate about art. She had been married to Paul Éluard, with whom she had her only child: a daughter, Cécile Éluard. Gala and Dalí met in Cadaqués in the summer of 1929. They fell in love, and from that moment on Gala became Dalí’s lover, life partner, active muse, promoter and protector.[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/597/galarina?paraulaClau=galarina)[Read the article ‘Galarina’ in our website: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/breaking-news/monographic-dali-raphael/galarina/)
RAINY TAXI
Surrealist installation which, according to Dalí, is the largest surrealist monument in the world.[Discover the story:](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61IrC4vtztw&t=6s)
To Dalí, this object represented a hydrogen atom. It is a reference to science, which Dalí had been fascinated by since he was a young boy. Ah! But he could also see six women’s bottoms in the same form!
ANAMORPHOSIS IMAGES
Images painted in a deliberately distorted way which can be seen correctly when viewed in the reflection of a metallic cylinder. Dalí, however, uses Ponche Caballero liqueur bottles.
VESTIBULE
The first room in the museum, the theatre’s original lobby, where Dalí placed the artists, personalities and artistic movements that meant most to him. Here he also references mythology and Gala, his wife and muse, who we will see more of throughout the museum.
Space dedicated to monotheism which contains a deluxe edition of the book ‘Moses and Monotheism’ (1974) by Sigmund Freud and illustrated by Dalí, and a replica of Michelangelo’s ‘Moses’, created by sculptor Frederic Marès, with a wooden octopus and rhinoceros head above it.
GALA PLACIDIA, 1952
One of the most representative works from the artist’s nuclear-mysticism period; an expression of Dalí’s passion for science and theories of atom splitting. Gala’s face is made up of spheres, which, according to Dalí, were subatomic particles. At the same time, the painting has spectacular three-dimensional perspective.‘Today, the exterior world -the physical one- has gone beyond the psychological one. My father, today, is Doctor Heisenberg.’ Salvador Dalí[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/672/gala-placidia?paraulaClau=gala+placidia)
Reproduction of Millet’s Angelus which had obsessed Dalí since he was a child, after he saw a reproduction of it hanging in a corridor at his school. Over the years Dalí developed his own theory about this piece, which he describes in the complex book The Tragic Myth of Millet’s Angelus: Paranoiac-Critical Interpretation, published in 1963.
Cast in bronze of a sculpture created by Salvador Dalí, based on a typical rush chair and spoons.
Antoni Pitxot (05/01/1934 – 12/06/2015), artist and friend of Salvador Dalí, was appointed director of the Dalí Theatre-Museum by Salvador Dalí himself, a position he held until his death. On the second floor of his Theatre-Museum, Dalí set aside space for a permanent exhibition of his great friend’s work.[Watch Antoni Pitxot’s video explaining the Dalí Theatre-Museu](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07M3t6VWA8E)[Watch Antoni Pitxot’s video explaining his permanent exhibition in the Dalí Theatre-Museum](https://youtu.be/SaY1gpGt68E)
"50 ABSTRACT PAINTINGS THAT FROM TWO METRES CHANGE INTO ...
...THREE LENINS DISGUISED AS CHINESE AND FROM SIX METRES FORM THE HEAD OF A ROYAL TIGER, 1962"As the title of this piece would indicate, the image variedepending on our position.[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/791/50-abstract-paintings-that-from-two-metres-change-into-three-lenins-disguised-as-a-chinese-and-from-six-metres-form-the-head-of-a-royal-tiger?paraulaClau=tiger)
HOLOGRAM
Dalí was the first painter to conduct a holographic experiment to create a work of art, playing with virtual 3D images. He worked in collaboration with Nobel prize winning physicist Dennis Gabor in 1972.
LEDA ATOMICA, 1947-1949
A nod to classical mythology, with Leda and the swan at the centre of a mathematically studied composition, applying the principles of Friar Luca Pacioli’s golden ratio. All the elements are weightless, suspended, floating... in clear reference to the atomic bomb of 1945 (Hiroshima and Nagasaki).‘The atomic explosion of August 6, 1945 shook me seismically. Thenceforth, the atom was my favourite food for thought. Many of the landscapes painted in this period express the great fear inspired in me by the announcement of that explosion.’ Salvador Dalí[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/642/leda-atomica?paraulaClau=leda)[Read the article ‘Mythological References in the Work of Salvador Dalí: The Myth of Leda’ ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/research/archives-en-ligne/download-documents/3/mythological-references-in-the-work-of-salvador-dali-the-myth-of-leda)
Try imagining other realities, Dalí loved doing just that! Look at the clouds, the rocks, the stains or cracks on the walls of your home... What do you see?
STEREOSCOPIC IMAGES
Pairs of almost identical images placed side by side. Each eye looks at one of the images, and the brain merges them, producing a sensation of depth, relief, and three dimensions.
ROOM 3. THE CUPOLA
The stage of Figueres’ former theatre, with its red curtains and backdrop. The museum is a complete work by Salvador Dalí, his last masterpiece, a theatre of memory.'I want my museum to be like a single block, a labyrinth, a great surrealist object. It will be a totally theatrical museum. The people who come to see it will leave with the sensation of having had a theatrical dream.' Salvador Dalí
"GALA NUDE LOOKING AT THE SEA WHICH AT 18 METRES APPEARS ...
...THE PRESIDENT LINCOLN, c. 1975"Homage to the Latvian-born American abstract-expressionist painter Mark Rothko. This work is the first example of the use of image digitisation in a painting. Based on a digital interpretation of Lincoln’s face created by the cybernetics expert Leon D. Harmon, Dalí painted Gala from behind using oils. This work demonstrates, once again, how far ahead of his time Dalí was.[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/870/gala-nude-looking-at-the-sea-which-at-18-metres-appears-the-president-lincoln?paraulaClau=LINCOLN)
THE BASKET OF BREAD, 1945
Dalí worked with symbols. Take a closer look at the bread; just like an egg it is soft on the inside and hard on the outside. Dalí likened it to a person: soft on the inside (with our fragile inner worlds formed of emotions, feeling, fears...) and hard on the outside (like a crust, a shell, our protection).
"PORTRAIT OF PABLO PICASSO IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY ...
...(ONE OF A SERIES OF PORTRAITS OF GENIUSES: HOMER, DALÍ, FREUD, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, WILLIAM TELL, ETC.), 1947"A portrait honouring the painter from Malaga, Pablo Picasso, who Dalí considered a genius, transported into the twenty-first century. Dalí wanted to hang this work in the Fishmongers’ Room, just in front of his ‘Soft Self Portrait with Grilled Bacon’, creating a tête-à-tête, two geniuses face to face. The carnation, the horns and the mandolin refer to different values such as intellectualism, glorification of ugliness and sentimentalism found in Picasso’s work, which Dalí much admired.[Look at this work in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings: ](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/artwork/catalogue-raisonne-paintings/obra/628/portrait-of-pablo-picasso-in-the-twenty-first-century-one-of-a-series-of-portraits-of-geniuses-homer-dali-freud-christopher-columbus-william-tell-etc?paraulaClau=picasso)
"GROTESQUE" MONSTERS, 1975
Did you know that Dalí reused all kinds of objects to create his works? He used to say that he worked by accumulation, never by selection.
WHEN IT FALLS, IT FALLS, c. 1972
Look carefully at this painting: which elements do you think were added by Dalí?
The central entrance door to the courtyard is framed by two original street lamps from the Paris metro by the architect Hector Guimard that rest on a support of fossilised snails from the Pyrenees.[Discover the story:](https://youtu.be/g4iSD480UDw)
The right eye is a view of Paris, with its bridges over the Seine, and the left eye is Perpignan station. Dalí used to say that the station at Perpignan was the centre of the world.
[Discover our Temporary Exhibitions: ](https://exhibitions.salvador-dali.org/en/)
