Dali Exhibition: Mythology & Religion - Part II

The second theme of Dali Exhibition:  Mythology & Religion

Man with Butterflies

Lady Godiva with Butterflies

Dali selected the image of Lady Godiva as one of his favourites, and paid homage to her sensuous and shapely female form through the conception of this sculpture.  Lady Godiva was a noble woman who took pity of the people of her city because they suffered from her husband's abusive laws.  According to legend, she rode naked through the streets to free the people from the oppressive rule.

  Announcing her arrival, butterflies not only hover around her and her noble steed, but also adorn her body as she plays her trumpet. Lady Godiva embodies earthly beauty, whereas the butterflies depict the ethereal world, a symbol of soul.

Hair of Lady Godiva is as beautiful as the horse's mane.

Adam and Eve

The serpent coils himself in the shape of a heart.

Unicorn

Dali chose to portray the unicorn as a phallic figure whose horn penetrates a stone wall through a heart-shaped opening, from which a drop of blood is slowly falling. The nude, reposing female stretched out in the foreground at the hooves of the animal underlines the sensual nature of this sculpture.

St George and the Dragon

St George is recognized as the guardian angel of Aragon and a celebrated saint of chivalry throughout medieval Europe. In this sculpture, St. George is slaying the dragon, while his inspirational muse, Surrealist Art, exalts in the background.

The Bible

Homage to Terpsichore

Dali used a reflected image, setting a soft, carnal muse against a hardened, statuesque one. The lack of definition in both faces clearly underlines the purely symbolic significance of these figures. The smooth and classical dancer is representative of inner harmony and the unconscious, while the angular, cubist figure from which we see branches sprouting, represents the ever-growing and chaotic rhythm of modern life. 

Both figures dance side by side within each of us, one representing grace and the subconscious; the other representing the sensuality of life.