Salvador Dalí’s The Great Masturbator: A Surrealist Analysis
Salvador Dalí’s *The Great Masturbator* (1929)
Artist: Salvador Dalí (1904-1989)
Timeline: 1929
Style: Surrealism
Technique: Oil on canvas
Size: 1.1 m x 1.5 m
Location: Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid
Composition
The main feature of the painting is a *stylized self-portrait* of the artist. Despite the stylization, the most characteristic features of Dalí’s face are recognizable: a large nose, a long face, and a yellow, wax-like complexion. This self-portrait appears repeatedly in his work. Adhered to the self-portrait are several objects: a large lobster on the belly, plagued by ants; a hook; a lion’s head; and beach shells. Emerging from the self-portrait is a female figure with very Modernist facial features, approaching male genitalia tightly covered with socks. All these elements are symbolic. Locusts terrified Dalí since childhood, and in this case, he has emphasized their phallic shape. Dalí developed a dichotomy in his work. In *The Great Masturbator*, as in later paintings, there is a marked contrast between hard landscapes and architecture and soft, flabby characters.
Interpretation
Dalí’s images shape their own world in which hidden aspects are unashamedly brought to light. Dalí had invited Paul Éluard, his partner Gala, and other Surrealists to spend some time in Cadaqués after meeting them in Paris. During these days, Gala became interested in Dalí. However, during their walks on the beach (the shells and stones are a testimony to this), the only response he could muster when he tried to speak was to laugh like a fool. Dalí painted this piece filled with sexual desires and frustration, symbolized by the hook with the broken string. The lack of a woman became an obsession for the artist, who recreated an appealing and expressive pictorial onanism, but also the lion and its great tongue. The lion, representing “sex,” is significantly below the woman, probably Gala. The lobster on the belly, full of ants, represents Dalí’s childhood fears, as he was terrified of these insects. The elongated shape and its elevation by a sudden, unexpected leap accentuate the phallic symbolism. The atmosphere is disturbingly characteristic of Dalí.
Pablo Picasso’s *Guernica* (1937)
Artist: Pablo Picasso
Timeline: 1937
Technique and Support: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 3.51 m x 7.82 m
Style: Cubism, Expressionism, Symbolism
Location: Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid
Composition
The composition is a frieze divided into three or four parts, with elements connecting the sections. There is a balance in the distribution of the figures. The architectural elements are in perspective but without a single vanishing point. The space is treated with perspective, creating a sense of depth. The figures in the foreground are seen against a frieze-like compositional space. The shapes are drawn according to the Cubist aesthetic. There is a contrast between illuminated and shadowed areas, but they are balanced. The different light sources are a light bulb representing an eye, an oil lamp in the center, and a burning house on the right.
Style
Picasso is considered a painter, sculptor, and illustrator. He used different formats and supports, incorporating painted paper and waste materials. He investigated new forms of expression, and his work spans multiple genres. He initiated Cubism with Braque, and much of his production shows some of its characteristics, such as the decomposition of form and multiple viewpoints.
Interpretation
Picasso wanted the audience to interpret his work, and some of the figures may have multiple interpretations. The painting depicts violence, brutality, terror, injustice, fear, and helplessness. The figures include: a bull, a woman with a child, the head and arms of a soldier, a wounded dove, a horse, a woman carrying a lamp, a screaming woman, an eye-shaped light bulb, and a running woman.
Function
Beyond ideologies and politics, *Guernica* is a cry for life and peace. Each image expresses a desire for peace and represents a milestone in the art world.