A very surrealist love affair

The Persistence of Memory

When I first saw the melting clocks, I was hooked.  I was in the middle of one of my time & alternative realities obsessions, reading my way through Cortazar and Borges to Einstein (which I had to give up in about 2 minutes due to apparent lack of brains) and here was a visual representation of my newly formed ideas.

Then came the Venus of Milo with Drawers, another very visual demonstration of the secrets we all bury inside; the Hallucinogenic Toreador, a painting that I can look into for hours; the Space Elephant and many other paintings, furniture, objects and sculptures. Like his heros the Renaissance artists, Dali refused to confine himself to only one medium.

After observing Dali’s work in as many museums around the world as possible and reading about him and his life, I reached the obvious conclusions:

- Dali was an egomaniac genius whose works make me understand and appreciate surrealism.

 - He was either incurably crazy or had a very unique sense of humour. Or both.

  - I envy Gala.

The second feeling got stronger after I’ve visited their houses in his native Costa Brava and caught a glimpse of the life they built together.

When Dali met Gala in late 1920s in Paris, the city was full of artists, writers and jazz musicians from around the world creating works that would shape the 20^th century. Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Bunuel, Picasso, Miro, Cole Parker, Joyce and Stein were among a group of young people who survived the Great War and came to Paris to paint or write or compose or do whatever they wanted to achieve and the city gave them the freedom to try. The Russian born Gala was very much at home in Paris and an influential member of the Surrealist movement, being married to one of them. She also had a daughter, dozens of admirers, a ménage a trois and a passion for young artists. Dali was a budding artist ten years her junior, without money and the mustache. They all would come later, together with Gala.

Shortly after they had met, Dali invited a group of artists, including Magritte, Bunuel, Gala and her husband to his childhood home in Cadaques for a summer holiday. He later wrote in his autobiography Ma Vie Secret that when he met Gala, he knew that only with her he could reach his true potential and true life goals. All his life Dali was no stranger to exaggeration but this time he was correct; they were never separated after that summer in Cadaques and Gala became his muse, model and beloved wife all of her life. 

I read somewhere that when he declared his undying love for her, Gala told him ‘My dear boy, from this day onwards we shall never be parted’. I always thought that finding the one person that you just feel that is right for you and acting on that impulse against all odds is the stuff one reads about or watches in romantic movies. It is inspiring that it also happens in real life, albeit a surrealist one.

There are three museums in Costa Brava where the memories of Dali & Gala are still very much alive, for these are the places where they actually worked, lived and played. The Dali Theatre Museum in Figueres; Castell de Pubol, the castle Dali bought for Gala in their later years and their seaside house in Portlligat, Cadaques.

The Dali Theater Museum, Figueres

The Dali Theatre Museum is a huge and crazy place built on the remains of an old cinema that was burned down by the Franco troops. Later when Spain became a republic, Dali insisted to build his dream theatre there; by then he had the money and the connections so he got his wish. I guess he wanted to create an inspiring playground, so he filled the building with his installations, paintings, sculptures, optical illusions and his favorite pet project, the Mae West room. Today it's full of tourists and school children who came with their teachers to see the works of an artist as imaginative as any of them. His tomb is also in the museum.

In an adjacent building, there’s the Dali Joiles, a small museum showcasing 38 extraordinary jewels Dali have designed. It's a must-see for all my girl friends. Some of the pieces took my breath a way but unfortunately – or shall I say luckily? – they are for exhibition only.

Pool of Castell de Pubol

The Castell de Pubol is a small castle in the beautiful village of Pubol, that Dali bought, designed and presented to Gala. Apparently this was something he promised her earlier when they got married. He also signed a legal document detailing the ownership rights; stating that Gala was the Lady of the Castle to live as she wanted and visitors – including Dali himself – would only be allowed at her invitation.  It was known that Gala had a very active sex life and had many extramarital affairs throughout her life including her ex-husband so Dali, with this gift, was presenting her the perfect playground with utmost understanding and freedom. One can only imagine the fun she had there.

The castle is an odd mix of period furniture, Gala's paintings by Dali where she is shown as an angel and a Warrior Queen, a giant piano, books, diaries, letters, records and lots of dress gowns that Gala wore to parties. Almost all of them are couture and some are just horrible. Some of the rooms have a fresh lived-in air so one almost expects to see an old and eccentric woman to walk around. The gardens are filled with  Dali sculptures hidden among exotic trees and a small labyrinth ending at a pool decorated with a couple of Roman goddesses and Beethoven's faces. In fact there are fourteen of them, all in different colors. The old horse carriage that she used to drive around the village next to her beloved Cadillac are still in the garage. She was buried at her castle.

Portlligat House

The Boat Tree @ Portlligat

The house in Portlligat is my favourite among all, most probably because it’s on the lovely Med coast with gardens adorned with olive trees. In other words, it’s a white house near the blue sea with gardens full of silver-green trees. I can’t imagine better colors.

Portlliagat is five minutes away from Cadaques , a very lovely seaside village. Dali lived in the area all of his life and when you see the light, you understand why the area attracted a painter. The house was actually made of nine fishermen’s huts that Dali bought and expanded over time, so it’s a bit of a maze. Having said that, I found the interiors shockingly normal. Of course there are the expected giant stuffed animals and the Oval Room with the strange acoustics that Dali designed for Gala, but it’s also full of light, lovely Catalonian furniture and the yellow wildflowers that Gala liked so much. 

  

Pool Furniture ?

The gardens are as big as the interiors and there are many niches and half openings in the gardens to enjoy the long Spanish summers.

The real Dali effect is in the swimming pool. Which swimming pool is complete without a couple of thrones to sit on, Michelin dolls, Pirelli tyres and a Mae West coach? Well, this one had all and some more.

When he heard about Gala’s death, Dali was at Portlligat. He left his house to live at Castell de Pubol because he didn't want to leave her all alone. He didn't take a single thing with him and he never returned back. The two unfinished paintings he was working on are still hanging in his workshop at Portlligat.

Dali once famously said ‘Surrealism ? It is me.’  He had a point.