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Salvador Dali, City of Drawers (1936)
It was the 11th of May in 1904 when a surrealist was born; this child was the famous Salvador Dali. Salvador grew up in a middle-class home in Catalonia, Spain where he lived with his family. His mother and father named him after his brother who had died a year before Dali was born. Dali uncovered his true talent by age ten thanks to Ramon Pichot, an Impressionist painter whom was a family friend. During the year 1917, Dali attended the municipal drawing school in Figueras to better his art education where he painted his first portrait of his grandmother. In 1921, Dali then enrolled himself at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid when he yearned for more knowledge as Pablo Picasso once did attending the same academy. As said in the article by Felip Jacint Domenech, “While at the academy, he produced his first Cubist painting, Pierrot and Guitar, influenced by Juan Gris”. Until 1924 Dali’s understanding of his own identity pushed him into turmoil which led him to prison for “antigovernment” political activities.

The year was 1925 when Salvador Dali established a close relationship with Federico Garia Lorca and created backdrops for Lorca’s first play. Through the years Dali’s subconscious imagery began to show through by reason of his influences including Lorca. By 1929 Dali had merged into the Surrealist movement created by Andre Breton. Dali once subscribed to Breton’s theory of automatism but instead went for a method of tapping the subconscious that he also labeled as “critical paranoia”.

In Salvador Dali’s mind he submerged himself with his artwork which he would later label each work of art as parts of his soul. “The new reality proposed by the recent theory of relativity of Albert Einstein, followed by the theories of quantum physics, struck his theories as extraordinary”, stated in the archives of Salvador Dali and Science, beyond a mere Curiosity. Dali admired to the newly proposed reality of Albert Einstein especially the approach of quantum physics. Specifically, Dali took interest in the new science that pronounced a world without acceptance where pieces manage to be in multiple areas or realms simultaneously. The “new reality” theory has helped develop surrealism which eases the understanding of this method of art.

A skillful interpretation of surrealism Salvador Dali had created is The City of Drawers in 1936. The City of Drawers was produced on a clean 60 x 70 cm piece of paper with one working pen alone. The City of Drawers remains within a private collection located in New York. Most of his art pieces reside at The Dali Museum in St Petersburg, Florida. This drawing was inspired by the psychoanalytical citation of Sigmund Freud; the open drawers of humankind’s subconscious. Dali chose this common motif of that period, shown a woman with a body made of drawers with firm branches appearing from her head intertwined with her hair. There were no documentations of as why Dali created this piece; most art historians presumed that this drawing was just a mere “doodle”. The best element of this drawing is that the iconography can be interpreted in many different ways. It has been suggested that the drawers being open could mean suffering and emotional disarray inside the woman. Another approach could be the drawers are a sign of depression and when help or guidance comes along the secrets and emotions come out. The position of the woman’s hand and body could imply she is asking for aid but the way her face is down could also indicate she has too much pride in herself to ask for it. The two mystery women placed in the background seem to be tidying their drawers of themselves without the woman in the foreground. This could also mean that this is the reason why she is hesitant for help. The location of this drawing does not show a contemporary view to what is clearly taking place but shows the metaphor to how depression feels. For instance, in the far right upper corner shows an alley way looking out towards the street where people keep to themselves as they go about their day. The City of Drawers relates to contemporary social development. The main theme would be understood as self-suffering or depression.

Salvador Dali has been repetitive with this similar idea. The title of a related topic is The Flaming Giraffe which was composed with oil on canvas.. The painting is very faint but is also pointed out as a “doodle” or an idea for something greater. The figure on the left of the paper appears with its bones protruding outside the body along with the collar bone and hips. The figure seems much larger in size with drawers out similar to The City of Drawers which could be interpreted as closer to the eye for effect. The right figure does not have arms or legs unlike the right figure, but its back bones give off an impression that it is missing all of its bones from the neck down.

In conclusion, Salvador Dali has inspired dozens of new surrealists including Walt Disney. Dali took over half a century creating the animated film called Destino which combined all of Dali’s famous art works. Many people doubted his artistic abilities but Disney admired Dali’s visions and later combined their ideas into making Destino. As Dali once said, “ I always saw what others could not see.”