Salvador Dali: Meditative Rose Salvador Domingo Dali was a Spanish surrealist painter. He was born in Figueres, Spain in the year 1904 and died in 1982. He can be considered to be one of the truly great all-rounders in the arena of Arts as he excelled in an expansive artistic repertoire included film, sculpture and photography (“Meditative Rose”). Considered to be highly imaginative, he had an eternal urge draw the attention of others to himself. His painting skills are often attributed to the Renaissance Masters. Dali was best known for his striking and bizarre images.
Dali employed extensive symbolism in his works, the most often employed being elephants, eggs and watches. His painting, ‘Rose meditative’, done during 1958, is a rare deviation from his favorite theme of surrealism. This is an oil-on-canvas painting, measuring 36 cm * 28 cm. The single rose without stem, suspended in air, is suggestive of contemplative meditation. Description A single rose, in brilliant red color, without its stem, is seen suspended in mid-air. The sky, in typical blue with silver clouds, occupies most of the space in the display with the rose situated in the center.
The landscape is at the lower end of the painting; it is presented in a dwarfing and dreary manner. With the rose painted on a massive scale, two tiny figures, standing close together, are visible on the ground. The shadows of the tiny figures are seen stretching across. Analysis The rose’s presence is deliberately ambiguous; one wonders whether the rose is real! Does it really exist or is it an imagination? The title, Rose Meditative’, raises a question on the observer’s relation to the nose. Probably, the rose may meditate or contemplate us. As we look and study it, we may be seen contemplating it.
Thus, a strange mutual thinking relationship can be seen. Streaks of the Hindu philosophy come into play as we can see the rose as suspended ‘Om’. Also, the brilliant red color of the rose can be interpreted as auspicious, again, a Hindu-based strong belief (“Aaron art prints: Meditative Rose”). This brilliant red color comes as a stunning contrast against the blue sky dotted with silver clouds. When we go down lower to the landscape, one notes the dull warm earth tones. Seen in the background is the yellow-colored horizon rising above the landscape.
Interpretation While interpreting the painting, it would be worthwhile to understand the experience of Dali when he did the painting. He had broken away from the surrealists and had become even more intensely individualistic person (“Rose Meditative”). All the art work done during this period tends to reflect this aspect by being unique in their category. Dali’s main theme on ‘rose meditative’ can be interpreted as an effort to bring an order to a state of delirium and hallucination. In other words, describing a dream in a vivid style, while being fully awake!
Dali himself called this method a simulated madness. The images can be considered to be visual paradoxes: in this painting, the rose is of an abnormally large size, the construction of the skyline, the rose and the landscape are incongruous. Through these ambiguous facets, Dali is successful in bringing out mystical and chaotic aesthetic elements as the most striking features in his paintings. Conclusion Salvador Dali, the surrealist painter, stands unique in the methods he adopted to combine mystical and chaotic elements with some real situations. Rose Meditative’ is one of his masterpieces, is extraordinary in its vivid style of portraying the three different elements of nature, namely, the sky, the land and the plants in three different colors. The clear blue sky may represent the joys of one’s life and the gloomy landscape, the sorrows of one’s life. Works Cited “Meditative Rose”. Aaron Art Prints. n. d. Web. 7 July, 2010. “Rose Meditative” Edutainment: Salvador Dali. n. d. Web. 7 July, 2010. “Rose Meditative”. The Artist Salvador Dali. n. d. Web. 7 July, 2010.
