The fact is that Dali himself did not cast sculptures at all: there is evidence that in 1969 - 1972 he embodied surrealistic images in ... wax. In his home in Port Ligat (as Dali's biographer Robert Descharnes wrote), the artist sometimes went to the pool and devoted several hours to modeling. Well, and then the story, as old as the world, begins about the thirst for money and Dali's promiscuity in means: at first, in 1973, Dali entered into an agreement with the Spanish collector Isidro Clot, who bought wax figures and made four series of castings in bronze. Actually, these are the most “genuine Dali sculptures”. The collector kept the first series for himself, the rest went to travel the world, along the way ... multiplying. Already in old age Dali sold the rights to reproduce sculptures, they were cast many times, sometimes in an enlarged size, and that is why sometimes a “Dali sculpture” appears on the market at a relatively affordable price. Auctions Sotheby's and Christie's for two whole years generally refused to accept the "Dali sculpture" for sale. Needless to say about the exhibitions of Dali's sculptures - the images, of course, are genuine, but all these are copies of copies. That is what miscalculated in 2013 the robbers, who, perhaps, thought to gain millions for the work stolen from the Paris exhibition - the famous "spreading clock"!

More or less originals can be considered, for example, such objects as the "Venus de Milo with boxes" (1936), from which the artist Marcel Duchamp, at the request of Dali, made a casting. Plaster Venus is real. But her twin sisters of the same form - again, "went into circulation."

The "Retrospective bust of a woman" created by Salvador Dali in 1933 for the Surrealist exhibition at the Pierre Colle Gallery (Paris) is also original. On the porcelain bust of a woman is placed a loaf of bread (a hat - sur!) And a bronze inkwell - the image of the painting "Angelus" by Jean-Francois Millet. Plus ants on the face, a paper "scarf", corn cobs on the shoulders. Just a parody of fashion! The original was ruined by... Picasso's dog. The exhibition was visited by an artist with a pet, and the dog ate a loaf! The whole idea, literally, down the drain ... Now the "reconstruction" of the work, but with a "fake" long loaf, is located in the Theater-Museum of Salvador Dali in Figueres.

Two works by Salvador Dali from private collection put up for auction. What was the pre-priced sofa lips and lobster phone? What else did the famous Spaniard create?

Crazy maestro, crazy genius, eccentric surrealist - it's all about him. Salvador Dali and extraordinary are almost synonymous. Painting reproductions Spanish artist sell like hot cakes, his image is used for photo shoots, and his single inventions are dreamed of being released into circulation. Dali managed to work in several areas at once: he made his contribution to interior design, and to the fashion industry, and to ... the design of sweets. We invite you to recall the most striking works of the brilliant Spaniard (perhaps you did not even know about some of them).

lobster phone

The artist came up with a sketch of an unusual telephone set in 1935, and a year later an interesting idea was brought to life. In many ways, this was facilitated by the British millionaire Edward James - he sponsored the artist, who was faced with a lack of funds, in exchange for his work (and was also a good friend of the Spanish genius).

By the way, if you believe beautiful legend, the idea of ​​​​creating such a phone was born during one of the friendly gatherings, when one of the participants dropped a lobster ... on the phone.

Dali repeatedly hinted at a sexual connotation in his idea - during a conversation, the speaker's lips should be in the genital area of ​​​​the lobster. In addition, lobster is known as an excellent aphrodisiac. In total, the world saw 11 copies of the invention - 5 colored and 6 white. Almost all of them are in museums around the world. The copy that belonged to James is currently up for auction at Christie's. Its cost was estimated at 850,000 pounds (more than 68 million rubles). Whether there is a buyer, we will find out in September. In the meantime, let's look at another lobster created by Dali.

Lobster dress

Dali was interested in all spheres of art, including fashion. In the 1920s he met another creative person with crazy ideas. It turned out to be the legendary Italian Elsa Schiaparelli, an innovator and revolutionary in the fashion world.

The designer and Dali have created some outrageous (and now legendary) wardrobe pieces. Their imagination, long before Philip Tracy and Stephen Jones, gave rise to idiosyncratic headwear, including the shoe-shaped hats and pillbox hats made popular by Jackie Kennedy. Later, they came up with apple-shaped bags and gloves with false nails. But the main creations of this star tandem are dresses. The most famous of them depicts Dali's favorite boiled lobster surrounded by green leaves. Perhaps it would not have become so popular if interesting thing did not dare to wear none other than Wallis Simpson - the Duchess of Windsor, for the sake of marrying whom Edward VIII abdicated (it's good that times have changed, otherwise we would not have seen magnificent wedding Meghan Markle). By the way, even the latest collection of Schiaparelli included dresses with the image of "relatives" of lobsters - crabs.

sofa lips

This unusual piece of furniture was created especially for the Schiaparelli boutique. Dali was inspired to create it by Mae West, one of Elsa's main clients and part-time sex symbol of her time. However, Edward James again sponsored all the fun. Dali said more than once that the sofa is unsuitable for sitting - firstly, it is terribly uncomfortable, and secondly, it is unsuitable to spoil art objects. And yet a strange thing aroused genuine interest and delight among those around him.

Yes, such that in 1974 Salvador decided to return to work on the sofa, taking the promising designer Oscar Tusquets Blanca as his assistant. The fruit of their creative fusion is stored in the room of Mae West of the Figueres Museum (the one stylized as the face of an actress). Well, in 2004, the Blanca Bd Barcelona Design company, which has exclusive rights, began mass production of Dalilips (the so-called sofa), adding three more colors to the “canonical” red version - black, white and pink.

But that is not all. If you want to get your hands on the original sofa, you have a chance: it, like the lobster phone, was put up for auction. The starting price is only 400,000 pounds (more than 32 million rubles).

Aphrodisiac jacket

Dali worked on clothes not only with Schiaparelli, but also on his own. One of the fashionable inventions of El Salvador is the aphrodisiac jacket. The first version of the unusual outfit appeared in 1936 - then it was decorated with about 80 cups of real mint liqueur (and it was hard not to spill the whole thing!). They were attached to the jacket with thin straws, and in each of them lay ... a dead fly (apparently, for plausibility).

Unfortunately, this version has not been preserved, although they tried to recreate it from memory for a number of art exhibitions. But the later version of the jacket, in which glasses were replaced by numbered crystal glasses, remained not only in the memory of the contemporaries of the Spanish genius - Dali is captured in his uniform in a photograph that is stored in the BBC archive and is considered one of the symbols of the twentieth century.

Venus de Milo with drawers

Sofa lips and a lobster telephone were not the only pieces of furniture that were born in the imagination of Dali. Another unique work appeared in 1936. As you might guess, the classical Venus served as the basis for it. Taking an ancient relic as a basis, Salvador recreated its plaster copy, deliberately dividing the woman's body into boxes: one of them is in the head, others are in the chest, stomach and legs. The artist once again reminded of the secrets female body and his sexuality.

In 1973, Dali “republished” his sculpture. The new Venus à la Giraffe got a long neck, because of which they disappeared the slightest chance get to the box in her head (oh, those female thoughts), but from her stomach, symbolizing fertility, comes a long box that cannot be closed.

In his works, the artist repeatedly addressed the topic of female sexuality - his sketches included chairs and tables with female feet and hands. By the way, they were brought to life in the same Bd Barcelona Design, as the Menagere table set with unusual forks, spoons and knives in the form of snails and plants was once recreated according to the sketches of a genius.

lollipop logo

Rounding out our selection of the artist's creations is the sweetness that we encounter every (well, almost every) day. As a great inventor and creative, Salvador simply could not leave his mark on the history of advertising, marketing and design.

The production of the famous Catalan lollipop began in 1958, but only 11 years later, its creator Enric Bernat turned to his compatriot and good friend for help in design.

For a very decent amount (the artist did not suffer from modesty), Dali invented the logo, which we see to this day almost in its original form. It was the genius of surrealism who guessed to place the logo on the very top of the lollipop so that it was clearly visible and difficult to damage. The customer was satisfied.

/ Dali - designer / Phone-lobster

Beyond the canvas. Surreal items- lobster phone

What will happen if we combine an industrial object with an object of wildlife, a thing that has a practical purpose with something that carries only symbolism? Salvador Dali did not ask these questions, he simply combined the incompatible, shocking and enjoying the result.

Incomprehensible and absurd at first glance, bewitching with its deep inner meaning the combination of a telephone with a lobster (lobster) gives birth to an object, in the highest degree surreal.

Phone of the future, or Device that enhances sexual desire

The Lobster Telephone, also known as the Aphrodisiac Telephone, was born in the brain of Salvador Dali in 1935. Fulfilling the order of the weekly New York edition of American Weekly, Dali painted the "phone of the future" - an apparatus that has a lobster instead of a handle.

As Dali himself later explained in 1938, this idea is based on the simple thesis that lobsters will replace telephones in the future. It is known that lobsters, like many other seafood, are an aphrodisiac. For Dali, this is an animal. for a long time was a symbol of sexual desire. Omar also appeared in some other paintings and photographs by the maestro.

According to Dali's design, the lobster's genitals are at the level of the microphone of the handset. Thus, the speaker will have to bring his lips closer to them. Perhaps this is one of the most obvious examples of the symbolization of sex and sexual desire through animals and products.

A little later, in his "Secret Life ..." Dali writes: “I don’t understand why when I order fried lobster in a restaurant, they never serve me a boiled phone; I still don’t understand why champagne is always drunk chilled, but some handsets, which are usually so disgustingly warm and unpleasantly sticky to the touch, are never served in the same silver pails and do not cover with crushed ice.

There are currently 5 official color copies of Lobster Phone. Among them there are both absolutely similar and different models of telephones. One phone is stored in the Dali Museum in London, the second - in the Museum of Telecommunications, in Frankfurt, Germany, the third - in the Edward James Foundation, in New York, the fourth - in the Australian national gallery, in Canberra, the fifth is exhibited at the Tate Gallery, in London.

There are also 6 white copies of the amazing phone. One of them is exhibited at the Art Institute in Minneanapolis, the second - in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the Salvador Dalí Museum. The rest are in private cultural center located in Belem, Portugal and owned by the collector Joe Berardo.

Did you like the site? Do you want to say thank you? Put a direct active hyperlink in the form Very graceful and light sculpture. Not quite a characteristic image for Salvador Dali with his extravagant flow of the subconscious. I would call it "Ode to the Piano". :) The famous elephant from the paintings of Salvador Dali "The Temptation of St. Anthony" and "Dream caused by the flight of a bee around a pomegranate, a second before awakening."

And this is the image and paintings of "Burning Giraffe".
Soft watches - where without them. This is obviously impregnable Gala and Dali in love.
More, more soft watches.
It looks like Cupid on a snail. :)