SALVADOR DALI

"THE HALLUCINOGENIC TOREADOR" - 1969-70

This Dali painting is one of my favorites. It can be seen in the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg Florida. The repeating figures of the statue of Venus De Milo form the features of the Bullfighter's face. Look at the second Venus (the one with the green skirt), her left breast forms the toreador's nose, her abdomen forms his chin, and her head forms his right eye. Her skirt forms his shirt and necktie (the tie is dark green, the shirt light green). The skirt of the first Venus forms the toreador's red cape draped over his shoulder. The arena helps to form his hat. The wounded (or possibly dead) bull can be seen in the lower left quadrant in a pool of blood. There are many other images in the painting, but two of the more curious ones are a bit hard to see in this small reproduction (the original is probably 15-20 ft. high). The first of these can be seen at the very bottom-center of the painting, where he pictures a dalmation dog sniffing the ground. The second, just barely visible in this small version, appears in the pool of blood just below and to the right (viewer's right) of the bull's face. If you look closely you can barely make out a small bit of yellow color. In the larger original painting this is clearly a picture of a woman lying on a yellow air mattress which floats in the blue pool.

If you have a hard time seeing the Bullfighter at first you might try standing at a distance from your computer.

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