'Dalì. The classical dream'

At Pisa Palazzo Blu an unmissable exhibition to get to know Salvador Dalí from an original perspective

From 01 October 2016 to 05 February 2017

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Pisa Palazzo Blu is housing a new unmissable exhibition: 'Dalí. The classical dream’, on until February 5th 2017. The exhibition wishes to bring the public sphere closer to the works of the great Spanish master, putting a spotlight on the importance that the great Italian masters from which he drew much inspiration - from the time of Michelangelo and Raphael - had on his artistic production.

The 150 works on display at Palazzo Blu - paintings, watercolours and woodcuts - from the Museum Fundación Gala-Salvador Dalí in Figueres, the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg in Florida and the Vatican Museums - testify the constant presence of the classical heritage in the great artistic career of Dalí. Among the Pisa 2016 exhibitions, 'Dalí. The classical dream’ should not to be missed!

The four paintings that open this Pisa art exhibition – the 1960 'The Trinity', ‘Study for the Ecumenical Council, the 1952 'Angel of Port Lligat, the 1950 ‘Landscape of Port Lligat' and the 1956 'Saint Helen in Port Lligat' - highlight the religious breakthrough in the art of Salvador Dalí who, because of the Spanish civil war, was initially forced in 1948 to return with his beloved Gala to Port Lligat and then to Italy . It was Dalí’s time in Europe that determined a major change during which Dalí combined his greatest passions - religion, science and masters of painting.

In those years, Dalí also started writing 'Mystical Manifesto', a text that will be published in 1951, which is a sort of legitimization of his 'new' religious painting inspired by the Renaissance artists he so loved and admired.

In the exhibition on Dalí in Pisa at Palazzo Blu, you can also enjoy a selection of little-known but extraordinarily beautiful oil paintings, dating back to the ‘80s, the concluding stage of his successful career. Four of these works are unpublished: we refer to 'Untitled. Christ after the Palestrina Pietà attributed to Michelangelo', 'Untitled. Moses after the tomb of Julius II by Michelangelo, 'Untitled. Crouching Boy after Michelangelo' and 'Untitled. Giuliano de' Medici after the portrait of Giuliano de' Medici by Michelangelo'. These works of art, as well as being presented for the first time in the current exhibition in Pisa as a stylistic and thematic corpus, allow us not only to analyse Dalí's painting technique, but also his ability to transform soul unrest in to artistic expression.

Included in the calendar of the exhibitions in Pisa in 2016, 'Dalí. The classical dream' also showcases the complete series of wood engravings depicting the Divine Comedy, whose origin deserves a few words. In 1950, ahead of the 700th anniversary of the birth of Dante Alighieri, the Minister of Education commissioned Salvador Dalí to illustrate the Divine Comedy, since he himself had already painted some watercolours inspired by the famous Italian poem.
However, after the work was started, the assignment was revoked because of political pressures from the opposition that disapproved of the decision to entrust a Spaniard with the illustration of this important masterpiece of Italian literature. Nevertheless, Salvador Dalí continued to work for the ambitious project for more than eight years, producing some 100 watercolours, then took a good revenge by doubling the price of the works and offered the publishing copyrights to the French publisher Joseph Forêt. The latter, in 1960, published '100 watercolours pour la Divine Comédie de Dante Alighieri par Salvador Dalí', the catalogue of the exhibition that was housed at the Palais Galliera in Paris, during which the watercolours were transposed in to woodcuts thanks to the work of Printer Maestro Raymond Jacquet.
In 1963 Forêt also published a complete edition of the 'Divine Comedy' by Dante Alighieri with the original prints of the watercolours painted by the Spanish artist.

On top of revealing the intellectual side of Dalí as a lover of literature and painter, the Pisa current exhibition on Dalí at Palazzo Blu presents the artists as a designer thanks to the display of 30 illustrations narrating the legendary life of versatile Florentine artist Benvenuto Cellini.
In 1945 the Catalan artist was commissioned by the American publisher Doubleday & Company to illustrate the life of the Florentine goldsmith: this gave birth to forty-two extremely varied drawings both from the technical point of view and the formal one. The original preparation works, currently housed at the Fundación Gala-Salvador Dalí of Figueres, are enriched with inscriptions and quotations from Cellini’s text.

Among the current exhibitions in Pisa in the beautiful location of Palazzo Blu, do not miss 'Dalí. The classical dream ', open until February 5th 2017. An innovative project that compares the eccentric genius of Figueres with the classical tradition and the greatest Italian Masters. The paintings, drawings, watercolours and illustrations on display will show an enigmatic side of Salvador Dalí, a kind of explorer and admirer of the great 'classic dream'.

Once you have visited the exposition... why not visiting the city of the Leaning Tower and its wonderful monuments? Visit our section dedicated to the tours in Pisa and choose your favourite!

If you have a few days to spare, we suggest prolonging contact with the genius of Surrealism by visiting the exhibition 'Between Dream and Reality' in Pietrasanta, in the province of Lucca. Known as the little 'Athens of Versilia', this medieval town owes its appellative to the open-air art gallery it hosts, but especially for being a crossroad between sculptors from all around the world.
From November 12th 2016 to February 5th 2017 a selection of works by Salvador Dalí will be on show between Piazza del Duomo and the Saint Augustine cloister: among the works on display, masterpieces such as the large 'Space Elephant', a 'Surrealistic Piano', the famous melting watch in 'Dance of Time' and many others. 

‘Begin by learning to draw and paint like the old masters. After that, you can do as you like; everyone will respect you. [Salvador Dalí]