New exhibition of Stereoscopic images at the Dalí Museum

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, March 28, 2024


New exhibition of Stereoscopic images at the Dalí Museum
Salvador Dalí was an artist with boundless curiosity who was constantly in search of the latest technical developments in order to apply these to his creations.



FIGUERES.- A new temporary exhibition at the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres was officially inaugurated. The exhibition is entitled Dalí. Stereoscopic images. Painting in three dimensions and it will remain open throughout year 2017. Six pairs of stereoscopic works are on display accompanied by equipment to observe the three-dimensional effects.

Concept and content
Salvador Dalí was an artist with boundless curiosity who was constantly in search of the latest technical developments in order to apply these to his creations. From the mid-1960s and throughout the 1970s, his interest focused above all on virtual images and depth. This moment coincided with the preparation and subsequent inauguration of the Theatre-Museum and the painter indeed dedicated some of the museum's spaces to optical illusions: anamorphosis, stereoscopy and holography. At the end of the route around the museum, the Optical Illusions Room, number 19, recreates the result of the painter's studies in this field. The museum is holding a temporary exhibition (room 22) to display the museum's stereoscopic works in a different, more up-to-date way, while at the same time attempting to maintain a certain Dalinian artisanal spirit.

In room number 22 the museum presents six pairs of stereoscopic oil paintings: Dalí from behind painting Gala from behind immortalized by six virtual corneas momentarily reflected in six real mirrors, c. 1972-73; Gala's foot, c. 1975-76; Untitled. According to 'Las Meninas' by Velázquez, c. 1975-76; The structure of DNA, c. 1975-76; Dalí's hand drawing back the Golden Fleece in the form of a cloud to show Gala, completely nude, the dawn, very, very far away behind the sun, 1977-78; Dalí lifting the skin of the Mediterranean Sea to show Gala the birth of Venus, 1978.

Technical innovations in the field of optics interested the painter very much, as did the discoveries made in the field of biology related to the world of mathematics. It is therefore no surprise that at the end of 1964 Dalí began to study rhinoceros horns and the logarithmic curves derived from them. He also studied the structure of flies' eyes, which led him to confirm that, thanks to this research, he had discovered 'totally stereoscopic' three-dimensional painting.

The results of this research can be seen in the diptychs Dalí painted in the 1970s. The catalyst for this line of investigation was the work of Gerrit Dou (1613-1675). At an exhibition in Paris between 1970 and 1971 that included work by the Dutch painter, Dalí discovered that Dou had made duplicates of his paintings. According to Antoni Pitxot, former director of the Theatre-Museum, Dalí was convinced that these were not just copies but that it was essential to view the pictures together. Studying them more closely, Dalí confirmed that they were not exactly the same, and that there were small differences between them.

At some point Dalí bought two pieces by Dou: The doctor's visit (1650-1655) and The spinner (1660-1665), also known as Portrait of Rembrandt's mother. The painter decided to exhibit them in the Masterpieces Room of the Dalí Theatre-Museum. In one issue of the magazine Setmanari Artístic Mar Empordanesa (1976), Dalí mentioned these pieces and wondered whether one of them, The spinner, was a replica or a stereoscopic trial, paired with the one in the Hermitage collection. In fact, the artist was quite insistent on this theme when explaining the content of the museum, telling the Setmanari that, in the Masterpieces Room, we find '2 Gerard Dou 2 probable stereoscopic experiences'.

After studying Dou's work and stereoscopic techniques Dalí came to the conclusion that the Dutch painter had used special lenses and mirrors to create a single stereoscopic painting (probably with the help of Van Leeuwenhoek, one of the early developers of modern microscopy), and was thus the inventor of this technique.

But what is stereoscopy? It is the result of the vision of two flat images of the same object, taken from different perspectives. When each eye sees one of the images, the brain adds them together and this produces a sensation of depth. Based on this principle, Dalí created pairs of paintings of almost identical images, but seen from different focal points in order to produce three-dimensional effects when viewed. To achieve a perfect relief effect, Dalí slightly shifted the centre of each image in relation to the viewer's eyes; these pairs of paintings are therefore never identical copies. In fact, the colours of the images also change, sometimes very obviously. The resulting composition formed in our brains becomes an image in three dimensions, such as those that have been popularised today by virtual games and projections.

At the Theatre-Museum, in room 19, there is a permanent display of photographs of some of Dalí's stereoscopic works, staged with mirrors that allow the three-dimensional effect to be observed. In order to see the relief, one must simply bring one's face close to the glass, at the centre of the edge of the two mirrors. In contrast, in room number 22, where the museum is presenting this temporary exhibition, some devices have been installed next to each pair of stereoscopic works in order to see the three-dimensionality. These devices consist of special glasses and a mobile telephone screen, like those typically used in virtual reality projects. The museum has adapted the mechanisms that Dalí proposed in the 1970s to view his stereoscopic works to the 21st century.

According to Antoni Pitxot, when Dalí was preparing these stereoscopic paintings, one of the aspects that most fascinated him was the possibility of escaping the order and the limitations imposed by the rules of optical experiments and, thus, be able to recreate new illusions. With this temporary exhibition, the Dalí Foundation also hopes to achieve this objective.

The exhibition is curated by Montse Aguer, director of the Dalí Museums, and coordinated by Carme Ruiz, from the CED.










Today's News

January 10, 2017

Getty Museum presents first major exhibition on 18th century artist Edme Bouchardon

New exhibition of Stereoscopic images at the Dalí Museum

Givenchy's Giacomettis to go under hammer in Paris

Masters Week at Sotheby's: 550+ works of art from 14th-19th centuries

Detroit Institute of Arts to premiere Lumin, a mobile tour using augmented reality

Rare Ben Enwonwu masterpiece leads Bonhams Africa Now-Modern Africa Sale in London

The Grand Palais to host FIAC and Paris Photo until 2020

Exhibition of new paintings by Katherine Bradford on view at Sperone Westwater

Andrea Rosen Gallery opens first solo exhibition in the U.S. of artist Miguel Ángel Cárdenas

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery opens an exhibition of new sculptures by Charles Long

Alison Gass appointed director of the Smart Museum of Art

The MIT List Visual Arts Center presents "List Projects: Andrea Crespo"

Safarkhan exhibits works by Egyptian artist Mohamed Abla

Mathew NYC opens exhibition of works by Megan Francis Sullivan

Paris show of masterpieces unseen in West is smash hit

Federico Castelluccio continues to stall dispute over Guercino painting

KADIST-Kunsthalle Zürich Production Award 2017 awarded to Shirin Yousefi

Influential glass artist Marvin Lipofsky exhibition opens at the Richmond Art Center

"Vernon Ah Kee: not an animal or a plant" is major visual art event for 2017 Sydney Festival

'Hollyweed' sign prankster arrested




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful