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Published: April 2nd 2014
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech was born on 11 May 1904 in the city of Figueres in Catalonia, Northern Spain. Most people know him simply as Salvador Dali, a surrealist painter and either a madman or a troubled genius. The two us have quite different views on the subject but whatever your thoughts on Dali, a trip around the three places so central to his life is captivating and in many ways mind blowing.
There is no right or wrong way to visit the so-called Dali Triangle. Logistically, the way we did it worked best for us, and the weather forecast had a hand in it too. We began at the Castle of Pubol before heading to Cadaques where we spent the weekend. From there we walked over to Port Lligat, Dali's home and studio for most of his life. Finally, we made our way to the Dali Theatre Museum in Figueres before going home truly shell shocked from the whole weekend's visual overload.
All three locations were a photographer's dream because there were no restrictions, other than no flash. I have included only a few pictures here on the blog but encourage you to visit my
Flickr pages by following the links if you want to see more, much more!
Pubol Castle Dali bought the castle at Pubol in 1969. Apparently it was a gift for his wife and muse, Gala. It is a strange place to wander around. Luckily for us there were not too many tourists visiting when we went, so we were able to drift around at a slow pace and take in the atmosphere. Inside we were perplexed by the burning giraffe and totally baffled by the lion and the wardrobe. Perhaps Gala was the witch! The stuffed white horse near the main castle entrance was a disturbing reminder that Gala liked her stuffed animals. Gala's tomb is inside the castle too and it is a little bit creepy. with statues of a horses head and giraffe looking over her. Outside in the garden we were left bemused by the long legged elephants. However, this was a castle, and there were much weirder things awaiting us over the weekend.
You can see all of the photos from Pubol Castle here.
Port Lligat It takes about half an hour to walk from Cadaques to Port Lligat and it's quite a pleasant stroll with some fabulous
views over the craggy bay. On arrival at Dali's house there, we were shocked to find we couldn't get a timed entrance ticker for nearly two more hours! Still, it gave us the opportunity to have a nice walk around the local area. If it's a two hour wait at this time of year, make sure you book your timed ticket online before visiting in the summer!
Once inside the house it is clear why they restrict it to 8-10 people at a time. Our guide spoke in Catalan and English but other languages are available. It's quite small but crammed full of things which will leave you both delighted and confused. For example, the first thing you see is a huge stuffed polar bear. It wouldn't be so bad but it is wearing what look like mayoral chains and carrying a lamp. There are various stuffed swans around the place too, apparently a symbol of immortality. Not exactly immortal for the swans though.
Dali's studio was very interesting. One piece is unfinished as he refused to go back in after Gala died in 1982. There's also a construction of Dali's design which enabled him to paint on
an enormous canvas whilst remaining seated. It moves up and down through a gap in the floor. See, clever, the guy was a genius, not a madman!
The bedroom was bit strange, but by then it was nothing more than we had expected. He had mirrors positioned so he could see the sunrise without getting out of bed! Some may call that lazy but think about it, what a great idea! He also had bird cages and a tiny cage to keep a cricket because he liked the noise it made. Er, yes, maybe more madman than genius this time.
There is a great room with hundreds of pictures of Dali meeting the great and good (plus the bad and evil) of the world in which he lived. There were many familiar faces looking down on us as we passed through. Next up was a bizarre circular room which served as an echo chamber if you stood in the middle. Conversation was impossible because every noise you made reverberated around the whole room. Weird yes, but the work of a madman or a genius, we're not sure!
And so it continued. Outside in the beautiful gardens we
were totally bewildered by the eggs. Beautiful though they may be, and indeed a symbol of life itself, they were startlingly out of place yet oddly in keeping with what we had seen. Inside an Arabian wind tower, whitewashed of course, with an egg on the top, we saw some videos of the madman genius in action being both a madman and a genius at the same time. Try not to think too deeply about Dali or you will end up with a headache.
From one point of view in the garden there was a pile of wood and junk. From above it looks like a giant man lying in a field. Genius! Totally mad! I nearly forgot to mention the giant heads, one split open, on top of the main house. And as for the matador fountain by the Pirelli tyres with the Michelen Man watching on, what can I say? It was almost a relief to walk away and see normal things in the end!!!
You can see all of the photos from Port Lligat here. Figueres When the theatre in Figueres was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War, Dali decided to build himself a museum there. Needless to say, it's
quite an oddball of architecture. It's pink walls are adorned with loaves of bread (another symbol of life) with eggs featuring prominently on the roof accompanied by some Oscar-like statues. Getting in was no problem but timed tickets might be an idea if they are on offer as it was full, and we mean FULL, of visiting Italian schoolkids who seemed to have become bored (or maybe their minds had been blown!) and had taken to sitting on the steps everywhere inside.
Inside there are many works of the surrealist master that Dali truly was. In the courtyard there is a car which, if you put a coin in the slot, will produce rain inside it. It's a tribute to Dali having to wait in the rain for a taxi once. As well as many weird and wonderful Dali pictures there are several displays of other artists. Some of them are quite normal by comparison. Dali's tomb is also inside but nobody really seemed to notice it.
Possibly the best exhibit inside involves waiting in a queue to climb up under a giant camel. As you wait you wonder what the two paintings on the wall above a
giant golden pair of nostrils and red lip sofa could be. At the top of the steps you look through a lens and you see a face emerge under the hanging golden locks. Genius!
Outside it was a pleasant return to normality as we found a place for lunch. Our ticket for the museum also included the jewel collection, housed in a separate wing of the museum. We were not overly enamoured but the "pomegranate heart" and the sapphire long legged elephant were cool, if not a bit unusual. Strangeness could also be found in the graffiti murals near the car park.
You can see all of the photos from Figueres here. So there you go. The Dali Triangle. We loved it, but left the area feeling totally mindboggled!!!!
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Belinda
non-member comment
Dalí-cious!
I'm such a Dalí fan and have never been to see his work first-hand but your post is super-detailed and great shots too - almost like being there - so will have to remember to reference it when I go - one day!