Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) was one of our greatest modern artists and an icon of surrealism. Dalí's fantastic expression in paintings, sculptures, films and writings helped to cement the identity of Surrealism. Drawing inspiration from Freud's psychoanalysis, Einstein's theory of relativity, impressionism and Renaissance painting, Dalí rendered symbolist, fantastical creatures and landscapes. Few artists have had such a peculiar universe as Salvador Dalí, where an imaginative mix of madness executed with technical perfection and precision reigns. His painting "The Persistence of Memory" from 1931 is one of the most famous works of art of all time. Dalí lived as he created - in constant movement, in search of immortality.
The elephant, Dalí's symbol of the future, is one of his favorite images and often depicted with objects on its back. Dalí undermines the idea that the elephant is heavy and strong by giving it impossibly long and weak legs. There is a sense of otherworldliness as Dalí's elephants defy the laws of nature and move gracefully, effortlessly. The elephants first appeared in his 1944 painting "Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening". The sculpture The Triumphant Elephant is one of the artist's most iconic motifs. On the elephant's back is an angel, a figure that also often appears in Dalí's work. In Dalin psychology, the messenger represents the subconscious that guides man through life. The elephant raises its trunk in triumph and the jubilant herald mirrors this act, trumpeting success and hope for the future. Dalí's fascination with elephants was so great that when Air India commissioned him to create a souvenir in 1967, Dalí presented a porcelain ashtray; a swan that turned into an elephant when turned upside down. In lieu of payment, Dalí asked for a baby elephant flown from Bangalore to Geneva.
Size: Height 53 cm
Technique: Sculpture, lost wax
Material: Bronze
Edition: 350
Caster: Perseo, Switzerland
Year: Created by Dalí in 1975 and the first work in the series was cast in 1984.
Signed and numbered. Certificates from The Dalí Universe and Perseo accompany the sculpture.
Estimated delivery time 6-8 weeks.