KasiaRecommends: Salvador Dalí Theatre-Museum by night (Figueres, Spain)

Dear Steemians,

This post will be not only for art lovers. You may not particularly know or name his works of art but you definitely have heard about him and most likely you recognise his unique face with a unique moustache. The guy is, like Picasso or Warhol, a legend of the 20th century. He made his life a constant performance. Salvador Dalí.

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Dalí's major contribution to the Surrealist movement was what he called the "paranoiac-critical method," a mental exercise of accessing the subconscious to enhance artistic creativity. Dalí would use the method to create a reality from his dreams and subconscious thoughts, thus mentally changing reality to what he wanted it to be and not necessarily what it was. For Dalí, it became a way of life.
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To be perfectly honest with you Salvador Dali is not my ultimate favourite artist. :) I mean I appreciate his art, I admire his courage to be different and his urge to surprise or provoke. But I am a bigger fan of Hieronymus Bosch, XV century artist whose words were truly unique and one of the kind (I will post about him soon)! His imagination surprises me every time I see his paintings. And I only can guess how difficult it must have been to him, in the medieval times!, to create this kind of art! Nevertheless, both - the art of Salvador Dalí and his Museum - are a must-see for a cultural, educated person. It is great to be able to have our own opinion about the art, and luckily, what one person enjoys will not necessarily be the same experience for the other! So I invite you to take a look at Dali’s work with me!

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We are visiting the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, his hometown in his beloved Catalonia, Spain.

Like every museum, it is open during the day-time, from 9 am to 6 pm with the exception of winter time when it opens at 10:30, and summer when it closes at 10 pm. Museum's interent site

What is great is that in August, the museum offers night-time visits, from 10 pm to 1 am! This is what I did last summer, and I highly recommend you doing the same if only you are in a neighbourhood :) You will be able to see exactly the same exhibitions, but additionally, you will get a chance to admire the stunning architecture and installations wonderfully highlighted by the lamps and lanterns. It really can augment your sensations.

"the Rainy Cadillac" Installation

Maestro Salvador Dalí is a Spanish artist and an icon of the Surrealist movement. One of his most famous paintings is “The Persistence of Memory”, and presents melting pockets watches in a landscape setting.

He decided to convert a local theatre - a place where he had his first public exhibition into the Theatre-Museum (Teatre-Museu) Dalí. Opened in 1974 it is called “the world's largest surrealist object”. The building reminds a castle, with giant eggs and Oscar-like golden statues on top of it. It’s another stunning feature is a transparent dome, that is beautifully highlighted during the night time!

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It took Dalí 14 years, since 1960, to create this unique piece of art/architecture, and he was omnipresent in designing even its tiniest details.

This is how the museum itself describes the visit:

Everything in it was conceived and designed by the artist so as to offer visitors a real experience and draw them into his unique and captivating world. (…)
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Now there’s the high time to visit the inside of the Museum.

The Museum offers a stunning amount of Dalí’s pieces of art: paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, photographs. And although we will not find his most important works, as they are diffused throughout the world in the public and private galleries, the collection is impressive and clearly presents Dali as an artist, exhibiting his work from the early period, through surrealism, nuclear mysticism and his late period.

“the Wind Palace Ceiling”

The visitors have as well a unique chance to see Dalí’s Jewels exhibition. The jewellery is made from the Dali's designs, sketched between 1941 and 1970. The collection consists of 39 pieces made from gold and valuable stones.

“the eye of time” source

The last but not the least! We can enjoy the impressive installations created by Dali specifically for the Museum, among others: “the Rainy Cadillac”, “the Mae West Room”, “the Wind Palace Ceiling” and “the Monument to Francesc Pujols”.

"the Mae West Room" Installation

I would love to hear what you think about Salvador Dalí and his art or simply about his museum, so do not hesitate and live your comment! :)

Sending Joy!
Kasia

• More about me here.

• My "what to do/visit in Spain" recommendations:
  Paying Leo Messi a visit - visiting Castelldefels, Spain
  ALTERNATIVE! MUST SEE/DO in BARCELONA, Spain vol. 1: COSMOCAIXA and its Tyrannosaurus Rex “TRIX”