Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937)
. According to Greek mythology,Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a pool. Unable to embrace the watery image, he pined away, and the gods immortalized him as a flower. Dali completed this painting in 1937 on his long awaited return to Paris after having had great success in the United States.
The painting shows Narcissus sitting in a pool, gazing down. Not far away there is a decaying stone figure which corresponds closely to him but is perceived quite differently; as a hand holding up a bulb or egg from which a Narcissus is growing. The egg has been used as a symbol for sexuality in other paintings by Dali. In the background, a group of naked figures can be seen, while a third Narcissus like figure appears on the horizon.
A long poem was written by Dalí to accompany the painting.
“cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul” (Oscar Wilde, Th
e picture of Dorian Gray Ch. 16)
“Narcissism and self-deception are survival mechanisms without which many of us might just jump off a bridge”. (Todd Solondz)
Last year I made a presentation where I compared this painting with Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and we were talking about Dali last class so it reminded me.
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Posted by: Mariana Beirão
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