November 11th, 2007 - Firgueres

Salvador Dali Museum 

After church, we head north and a little east to the city of Figueres, home of the Salvador Dali Museum. Our collective “we” has expanded to include a friend of Cynthia’s from church, named Grace. With lunch time upon us we gravitated to the visual appeal and aroma of a chicken restaurant.



The roasting spits of whole chickens drew a visual Pavlov response and we ordered chicken and began salivating.



Maybe the build-up was too strong because after it arrived, with stray feathers still in tact, the zeal diminished to tacit appreciation of the restaurant’s marketing efforts.



Winding through the streets of town, with a sharp right turn down a seeming side street, the Dali Museum was unmistakably directly in front of us.  It was build from the rubbled remains of a 19th century municipal theatre partially destroyed in the Spanish Civil War and touts itself as the "largest surrealistic object in the world".



The main atrium, complete with elevated boat, give a great position to appreciate the spherical visual illusion created by the geodesic dome of the main gallery and its reflection.



The pieces in the atrium serve as a good introduction to the art forms to come and through the glass wall one can catch a glimpse of the largest work in the museum.



I should have written down the names of each work, but in the visually spastic setting there was simply too much to distract, besides the titles may not have added much either.



An interesting side note, Salvador Dali is actually interred practically below this piece in a subterranean gallery, almost as another exhibited piece. The room contains other works and then this simple moniker.  Dali chose this location for his museum for three reasons, "first, because I am an eminently theatrical painter: second, because the Theatre is is the front of the church where I was baptized and third, because it was precisely in the lobby of the Theatre that I had my first exhibition of paintings".  With this line of reasoning, it only seems appropriate that he would be laid to rest here as well.



Dali’s “clocks” are probably his most known icons, but they are not here. The closest image is this woven tapestry that hangs above his former bed. (Sorry for the focus issue, as it was a “no flash” museum.)



Other works that interested me were from a period prior to his more obtuse expressions. To see the development evolve was interesting.



The museum had an interesting affect, as our quartet splintered with Dali over-saturation. , Rainer enjoyed a contemplative moment and the girls went off on their own (taken with a little prodding from Cynthia prior to separating)…



… and I reached tolerance levels with Dali’s final phases of depiction.



Waiting in the courtyard, taking a picture of the installation, Cynthia and Grace waved from the second floor window.



We were all ready for something different and thought it especially funny, when exiting the museum, to find a “Surreal Outlet Store”.



In out hurry to escape, we almost missed the best part of the museum. There is a solid metal revolving door, just to the right of this picture, which leads to the Salvador Dali jewelry exhibit.



Dali loved to play with illusion and the staircase with mirrored image was a perfect beginning to his jeweled medium.



Everyone agreed that the most impressive piece was this crowned, gold heart, with beating ruby organ inside. (Click on the movie icon at the bottom of the page to see it in action.)



Now, we were ready to cleanse our mental pallets before driving the two hours back to Barcelona. Cynthia’s idea of crepes sounded like the perfect solution. Next to the car park was a restaurant that made the most of Dali inspired themes, in an entertaining way.



The kitchen was a converted bus from the 1970’s.



With anticipation of chocolate, banana, crepes arriving, we were definitely in better spirits, while shedding the lingering post traumatic Dali experience.



Ahhh…, near perfection, complete with ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. If you make the venture north to the Dali museum, then I highly recommend adding this stop to your itinerary.



Dali's Jeweled Beating Heart Video: