It was a long time ago when I first saw reproductions of Salvador Dali’s paintings and was deeply mesmerized by the sharpness, riot of colors and, of course, imagination of the artist. You can spend an eternity looking at tigers frozen mid-leap, or at the clocks hanging on branches in the desert and melting under the sun. What a miracle is made with blobs in the portrait of Gala, Galatea of the Spheres! It stands to reason that for me the Salvador Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres was an essential place to attend in Catalonia, Spain.
We drove to Figueres from Carcassonne, France, enjoying marvelous roads and landscapes. It was simple to find our Duran Hotel & Restaurant in Figueres. It is a tiny town.
The restaurant in the hotel is famous for being visited by Dali, and its owner was his schoolmate as evidenced by numerous photos and pictures hanging on the walls and signed by the Master.
The menu
A school photograph. It is not hard to find Salvador among the pupils. His unconventional face clearly stands out from the crowd.
In the hotel, we had an IKEA-style room; however, it had some hints of abstractionism or surrealism, or maybe we were just agog and saw them everywhere.
The Salvador Dali Theatre-Museum is the only attraction in Figueres. His former house saves the town from being a neglected poor province.
The patio of the museum.
Here is a car with rain inside and an ugly, sick, obese woman standing on its hood. Unhappy woman. This is the famous Dali installation. I came up closer to the car. It was sloppy and very dirty inside, and the mannequin sitting inside the car under the rain was also sloppy. So primitive. It turned out that every Dali installation was the same—sloppy and ordinary. I can hardly believe that they were created by the Master himself.
The ground floor. Pictures and drawings. Some of them were amazing, but others impressed me more some time ago, on illustrations.
Music is a flow of sound waves. Pictures are a flow of colorful waves. Some of them really overwhelm you.
The Mae West installation. It is funny, but nothing more. It is known around the whole world, but definitely it is not the greatest artwork in the Salvador Dali Museum.
Walls of the corridors are plastered with drawings of every imaginable creep, dwarf, troll and goblin. We can also find women there, but usually, they are lying down and all those freaks with crutches just trample them. That is weird. It seems to me that Dali was not a misogynist, but just the opposite.
Pictures and drawings in the rooms are different—some solid, some not, but where are all those works of art for which I came to the Salvador Dali Museum?! This one? “Tristan and Isolde.” Love! What action and energy!
Or the self-portrait?
A fresco 🙂
Here it is! The Persistence of Memory, the famous melting clocks! Alas. But it was just a copy on the carpet.
Step by step we reached the fourth, and final, floor. There was a collection of drawings made by ink and pencil. Bingo! Our trip was not in vain! It is worth visiting the Dali Museum only for them. I would say you should start your visit from the fourth floor to admire, imbibe and vanish into the Art. Then you can go down to other floors.
Well, who would ever guess that this set of rings revolving around the centers strung on needles could be Don Quixote? But it is clear from the first glance.
A tournament? A struggle? Medieval knights? Everything done in pencil.
Sword dance? Furious and bloody.
An encounter again. My God! What a horse!!!!!
Sistine Madonna. There are no faces, but you still see them.
Spear strike, run, knock down, one already lies on the ground. Victory! A brush into the paint… Bang, bang… Bones smashed into smithereens! A masterpiece is ready. The Master has left. Finish!
Whatever it is, it is definitely in pain.
Don Quixote again? Or thanks to Cervantes, all Spanish hidalgos look just the same to us?
This is a mixture of a picture and a photograph.
It turned out that The Discovery of America By Christopher Columbus, Christ of Saint John of the Cross, The Persistence of Memory, and many other masterpieces by Dali are kept in museums of St. Petersburg, Florida (the second largest collection of Dali’s works after the Dali Theater-Museum in Figueres), Glasgow, and New York. 😦 Well, it means that I have at least one reason to visit the USA and Scotland.
Then we came to look at the Salvador Dali’s jewelry.
More about Spain:
Your Majesty, I Am Not Agree About Mezquita de Cordoba
Cochinillo Asado or Segovia’s Roast Suckling Pig—Please Bring the Second Portion!
Sagrada Familia by Antonio Gaudi. The Sand Castle
Victor Travel Blog 
Great post. When next in Barcelona visiting friends I will go there for the day, inspired by your post. If you like Dali you might like the Cactus Garden on Lanzarote island as when there I feel as if I am walking through a Dali painting e.g. see http://hungryglutenfreevegetarian.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/img_8911.jpg
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It is very interesting place . Thank you.
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I love Salvador Dali’s paintings, especially those who seem to melt. You took a photo of my favourite drawing, that with the desert and the objects melting…hmm…and I love the design of that bed..amazing.
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But the drawings done in ink and pencil were also incredible.
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Of course! All his paintings were incredible, only that those were my favorite. 😀
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Must have been an pretty cool experience!! I have had a couple of Salvador Dali’s prints on my walls over the years…one of my favorites was ‘Soft Watch at Moment of First Explosion’!
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Yes, it is a very impressive painting.
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I absolutley loved Figueres. It’s definitely worth the trip!
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Yes it is.
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I visited this museum in 2009 and absolutely loved it! Such an amazing place and a wonderful experience. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
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I was glad to give you pleasure.
Thank you for the visit.
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A great post! Thank you!
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Thanks a lot.
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I have nominated you 🙂 http://wolke205.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/versatile-blogger-award/
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Thank you, Frauke.
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Wow! What amazing photos. I’ve been to the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida and his work is so impressive in person.
Those first photos, I guess they are of your hotel? It looks like stepping back in time. Marvelous. Thank you for sharing.
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Yes, that was our hotel near the museum, Duran Hotel & Restaurant.
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thank you for your insight into this museum. like you say you cannot find this sort of information on the internet.
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Now you can 🙂
Thank you, Marion.
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Years after his death, the man and his art still captivates… I love your pictures. Great job! 🙂
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Because that Man was genius.
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beautiful photos Victor! Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you.
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Really cool pictures m8!
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Maybe some of them.
Thank you.
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Some of this art is absolutely amazing. Your blog is definitely amazing. Can’t wait to read more of your posts.
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I try to write more often.
Thank you.
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Thanks for sharing the art. It felt like I was touring the museum with you
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That was my ultimate goal.
When we were going to visit this museum I have not found this information in Internet.
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I second Pat Bean’s comment. Your post was like touring the museum with a knowledgeable friend.
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This is the best compliment for any travel blogger 🙂
Thank you.
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Salvador Dali is fantastic. These photos are amazing. Lovely post 😉
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Thank you, but it seems to me that photos are not the best of mine. There was the luck of lighting in the museum.
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If you have not seen it – google “Destino” – a short animated film by Dali and Walt Disney back in the day.
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Thanks. I have seen it.
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Hi Victor
Thanks for sharing these, Dali is one of my favourite artists and this place is certainly on my list of places to visit.
Simon
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Now, New York is in our list of places to visit to see his works.
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