Salvador Dalí

SALVADOR DALÍ I DOMÉNECH (Figueras, Girona, 1904 - 1989).
"L'Unicorne".1977.
Bronze patinated in green and brown, copy 324/350.
Signed and justified
With foundry stamp.
Certificate of The Salvador Dalí Archives, New York.
Measurements: 57 x 32 x 42 cm.

The unicorn, a mythical creature that in legends is closely related to purity, but whose connotations are multiple and ambiguous, is a figure that appears in different works by Salvador Dalí, given his fascination for symbolism. In this bronze sculptural group, the unicorn's horn becomes a phallic weapon capable of piercing a brick wall and giving the hollow the shape of a heart. Next to the fantasy horse, a naked woman sleeps languidly. Perhaps the unicorn embodies the young woman's wet dream, or perhaps it is Dalí's wet dream that brings together in an explosive visual image the virility of the fabulous thoroughbred with the sensuality of the beautiful lady. The interpretation always hides multiple readings, as it happens in so many other dreamlike scenes with which Dalí explored the infinite nooks and crannies of the libido. The horn of the unicorn, after crossing the wall, slowly falls apart, indicating the ephemeral nature of ecstasy. As is characteristic of his work, Dalí's unicorn is presented with a mixture of realistic details and distorted, expressive elements, playing with shapes and textures to create a sense of unreality or dreaminess. It is interesting to note that, in Dalí's context, the unicorn is a complex symbol, which can be interpreted in a variety of ways. It is often associated with purity and the unattainable, but Dalí reinvents it as part of his exploration of the subconscious and eroticism.

A painter and sculptor, Salvador Dalí was one of the leading exponents of the surrealist movement. His work greatly influenced the course of surrealism during the 1920s and 1930s, being acclaimed as the creator of the paranoiac-critical method, an essential combination of the real and the imaginary. Most of his production is gathered in the Dalí Theater-Museum in Figueras, followed by the collection of the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg (Florida), the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Salvador Dalí Gallery in Pacific Palisades (California), the Espace Dalí in Montmartre (Paris) or the Dalí Universe in London.