When I taught, I loved to stretch my pupils, and at one school, I put in place two extra items of homework every week: brain food and soul food. This extra journey I took to the far north of Spain to visit Dali’s birthplace was food for my soul.
With helpful station customer service people, we somehow managed to get the train from Barcelona to Figueres, where Dali was born, and the townspeople had developed a museum around his home that brings tourists from far and wide.
Figueres is pretty and neat, but the museum? It was something else. An absolute treasure trove of Dali’s work, through all his styles and expressions, this museum could suck up a few days easily. It’s grand, towering, maze-like, and complex. Just like the master’s work.
We had just 4 hours before we had to get the train back, so I took as many photos as I could. There were works there I’d never seen before, styles he’d dabbled in, echoing h is contemporaries and their explorations of genre and colour.
Here, some paintings that mimic Picasso, there, a Gauguin, further on, Matisse. Each piece of art a masterwork – was there no limit to his genius? Well, you may have your own take on his work, and Dali is certainly not for everyone. But he’s been my favourite artist since I was small, and the trip around this marvellous museum was a treat that still sustains me when I look at the images.
So I’ve curated a few of my favourites for you to gaze at, and enjoy. And if you get to Spain and enjoy art, the trip north almost to France, is worth it. Don’t even think about it.
And check the big bare feet coming out of the ceiling. Was this the inspiration for Monty Python’s logo???? I think so.
Chrissie
