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The full title "One second before awakening from a dream caused by the flight of a bee around a pomegranate" explains how Dalí was inspired by a dream that Gala reported to him. He saw the dream as an illustration of Freud's theory that dreams could be triggered by external stimuli. Gala, asleep and floating, feels the threat of the bee-sting, symbolised by the rifle with bayonet. The pomegranate, that probably attracted the bee, can be seen in the foreground and, in a huge version, on the left of the painting. It seems to be the source of the enormous fish with a snarling tiger leaping out of its mouth. In the background the elephant can be seen on long thin legs defying the laws of gravity, a recurring theme in Dalí's works.
ABOUT THE ARTWORK: The full title "One second before awakening
from a dream caused by the flight of a bee around a pomegranate"
explains how Dali was inspired by a dream that Gala reported to him. He
saw the dream as an illustration of Freud's theory that dreams could be
triggered by external stimuli.
ABOUT THE ART PERIOD: Dali
sublimated his life in his art of painting. Relying on great
craftsmanship, acquired in all sorts of art experiments, he lifted
surrealism, in an inimitable self-willed manner, to exceptional
heights. He photographed, as it were, associatively what was enacted in
his mind. Incited by, at the time, new psychological insights he tried
to fix his subconscious with images, and to visualize his dreams in all
their inscrutable symbolism. It was for this purpose that he developed
his famous "paranoid-critical" method. To us, one dimensional mortal
souls, only the paintings and other expressions remain as fascinating
witnesses to a literally unbelievably intense and active life. Perhaps
we are so drawn to them because not only do they allow us to have a
look inside Daliís subconscious, but they also are a mirror reflecting
our own souls.
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Janus Jewelry
