Dalí Theatre and Museum
Encyclopedia
The Dalí Theatre and Museum , is a museum of the artist Salvador Dalí
in his home town of Figueres
, in Catalonia
.
and remained in a state of ruin for decades until Dalí and the mayor of Figueres decided to rebuild it as a museum dedicated to the town's most famous son in 1960. The museum also occupies buildings and courtyards adjacent to the old theater building.
The museum opened on September 28, 1974, with continuing expansions through the mid-1980s. It houses the single largest and most diverse collection of works by Salvador Dalí, the heart of which was from the artist's own collection. In addition to Dalí paintings from all decades of his career, there are Dalí sculptures, 3-dimensional collage
s, mechanical devices, a living-room with custom furniture that looks like the face of Mae West
when viewed from a certain spot, and other curiosities from Dalí's imagination.
The museum also houses a small selection of works by other artists collected by Dalí, ranging from El Greco
to Marcel Duchamp
, and a gallery devoted to the work of Dalí's friend and fellow Catalan
artist Antoni Pitxot
, who became director of the museum after Dalí's death.
Dalí is buried in a crypt in the Teatre-Museu basement.
There is also a set of works carried out by the artist expressly for the Theater-Museum, like the room Mae West, the room Palau del Vent, the Monument to Francesc Pujols
, and the Cadillac plujós.
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
in his home town of Figueres
Figueres
Figueres is the capital of the comarca of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which attracts many visitors...
, in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
.
History
The heart of the museum was the building that housed the town's theatre when Dalí was a child, and where one of the first public exhibitions of young Dalí's art was shown. The old theater was bombed in the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and remained in a state of ruin for decades until Dalí and the mayor of Figueres decided to rebuild it as a museum dedicated to the town's most famous son in 1960. The museum also occupies buildings and courtyards adjacent to the old theater building.
The museum opened on September 28, 1974, with continuing expansions through the mid-1980s. It houses the single largest and most diverse collection of works by Salvador Dalí, the heart of which was from the artist's own collection. In addition to Dalí paintings from all decades of his career, there are Dalí sculptures, 3-dimensional collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
s, mechanical devices, a living-room with custom furniture that looks like the face of Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
when viewed from a certain spot, and other curiosities from Dalí's imagination.
The museum also houses a small selection of works by other artists collected by Dalí, ranging from El Greco
El Greco
El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...
to Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
, and a gallery devoted to the work of Dalí's friend and fellow Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
artist Antoni Pitxot
Antoni Pitxot
Antoni Pitxot is a Catalan Spanish painter who was a longtime friend and collaborator of Salvador Dalí.Pitxot was born into a family with many artists in its ranks, among them, his uncle Ramon Pichot...
, who became director of the museum after Dalí's death.
Dalí is buried in a crypt in the Teatre-Museu basement.
The collection
Some of the most important exhibited works are Port Alguer (1924), L'espectre del sex-appeal (1932), Autoretrat tou amb bacon fregit (1941), Poesia d'Amèrica-Els atletes còsmics (1943), Galarina (1944–45), La panera del pa (1945), Leda atòmica (1949), Galatea de les esferes (1952) and Crist de la Tramuntana (1968).There is also a set of works carried out by the artist expressly for the Theater-Museum, like the room Mae West, the room Palau del Vent, the Monument to Francesc Pujols
Francesc Pujols
Francesc Pujols i Morgades was a Catalan writer and philosopher.Morgades began to write poetry during his studies on secondary school, influenced by the work of Jacint Verdaguer and Joan Maragall. He took part in the literary competition Jocs Florals of Barcelona in 1902, and won the Natural...
, and the Cadillac plujós.
See also
- Dalí UniverseDalí UniverseDalí Universe was a permanent exhibition of art works by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí which was housed in a 3,000 square metre suite of galleries at County Hall in London, England. It opened in 2000 and closed in January 2010. As stated on the website, it intends to re-open at a different...
- in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England - Salvador Dalí MuseumSalvador Dalí MuseumThe Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, houses the largest collection outside Europe of the works of the artist Salvador Dalí and is located on the Downtown St. Petersburg waterfront.-History:...
- in St Petersburg, Florida, USA - Espace Dalí - in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France