Yesterday I made the last of my journeys in Spain and headed towards France to meet up with dear friends. Almost the last place I passed through was Figueres where the Salvador Dali museum is to be found. In this museum are many of the works if Dali but not, in my opinion, his best.
The Crucifixion a large masterful work, in fact, can be seen in Scotland. Again I was assailed by memories aplenty. I have been blessed to have been able to study this magnificent painting many times. Each time I feel moved by the work. Over the years I have interpreted this painting in a variety of ways but the one that has stuck with me the longest and strongest is the thought that here depicted is a terrible scene of horror and suffering. Yet in the painting, we can also see a group of fishermen working their nets. It is as if it is saying that no matter the horror for some life continues as normal and the horror is ignored.
This is of course just my thoughts and I am sure others will see it differently.
Let me return to the museum at Figueres. I took some 64 students to visit this wonderful building with its many many artistic artefacts. Many of the students were doing art as a subject and I was sure they would find this of great interest. How wrong could I be? They were much more interested in when we were having lunch. So not only in the face of horror does life go on it also does so in the face of wonders that will far outlive any of them.
Dali lived not far from Figueres in a house on the beach which he had purchased for himself and his wife. This place also has many many memories for me. The gap in the wall that when seen from the correct angle looks like a painting of the seascape seen from the house. It is said this was the first house in Spain to see the sunrise each day.
But the real tale of this place is very different. When Dali arrived at the house for the first time some fishermen were painting their boats. Dali noticed that they had been cleaning their brushes on his door. Rather than complain he encouraged them to continue until the door was completely covered in paint of a variety of colours.
Dali removed the door and had a frame built around it. He signed it in the bottom right-hand corner and sold in in the USA for enough money to build an extension to the house larger than the original building.
I leave you for today with the thought, "Just how do we place a value on such things. A man dies and nobody seems to care. Art in all is glory is passed by for a hamburger. An old painted door sells for thousands because it is signed by a man who had no part in painting it."
We live in a strange world and even stranger times.
Have a marvellous day
This is of course just my thoughts and I am sure others will see it differently.
Let me return to the museum at Figueres. I took some 64 students to visit this wonderful building with its many many artistic artefacts. Many of the students were doing art as a subject and I was sure they would find this of great interest. How wrong could I be? They were much more interested in when we were having lunch. So not only in the face of horror does life go on it also does so in the face of wonders that will far outlive any of them.
Dali lived not far from Figueres in a house on the beach which he had purchased for himself and his wife. This place also has many many memories for me. The gap in the wall that when seen from the correct angle looks like a painting of the seascape seen from the house. It is said this was the first house in Spain to see the sunrise each day.
But the real tale of this place is very different. When Dali arrived at the house for the first time some fishermen were painting their boats. Dali noticed that they had been cleaning their brushes on his door. Rather than complain he encouraged them to continue until the door was completely covered in paint of a variety of colours.
Dali removed the door and had a frame built around it. He signed it in the bottom right-hand corner and sold in in the USA for enough money to build an extension to the house larger than the original building.
I leave you for today with the thought, "Just how do we place a value on such things. A man dies and nobody seems to care. Art in all is glory is passed by for a hamburger. An old painted door sells for thousands because it is signed by a man who had no part in painting it."
We live in a strange world and even stranger times.
Have a marvellous day
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