Dalí Theatre and Museum

In Catalan, Teatre-Museu Dalí, as the name indicates, isn't simply a museum for Salvador Dalí the surrealist painter, but also a stage for Dalí the showman. He loved to shock, but he also opened our eyes to new ways of seeing.

It wasn't the quietest of nights. Besides the traffic noise, there were two sets of chimes on the hour. Fortunately I fell asleep quickly so I don't know if those chimes stopped before the early hours. In the morning I was awoken by my roommates packing. I decided to have an early breakfast and get to the museum for the opening time of 1000, as the lines get longer as the day wears on.

I caught a regional to Figueres. I passed a produce market in full swing near the station. I was tempted by the strawberries and cherries but those would have to wait till later. It turned out the opening time was 1030 so I took a walk around the block. Those regular protrusions from the wall are bread rolls.

The walls are topped by eggs, which recur often in his works. There are also figures of female gymnasts, see the next photo.

Near the entrance is a giant mural portrait with him wearing his flamboyant moustache. Judging from the background, I think it was taken at his house in Port Lligat. The museum is a smooth money-making machine. With the entrance ticket you get what looks like free additional ticket, but is actually an invitation to visit the jewel collection housed separately (he was also a skilled jeweler).

Outside the entrance is this homage to Francesc Pujols.

In the courtyard is this quirky installation called Rainy Taxi. The Cadillac is said to have once belonged to Al Capone.

This is Gala Nude Looking at the Sea but which at a distance resolves as the visage of Abraham Lincoln.  Nowadays we are all familiar with computer pixelation.

This is the giant mural under the theatre dome.

This installation is very clever. At first sight it looks like an arty living room with a mouth shaped sofa.

But look at it from the right viewpoint and it becomes a portrait of Mae West.

This baroque ceiling painting is entitled Palace of the Winds. The feet depicted are those of Dalí and Gala.

There is a Royal Bengal Tiger hidden in this optical illusion. It is a bit reminiscent of René Margritte.

It is not generally known that Dalí also designed beautiful jewelery. This display was below ground level near the crypt where he is buried.

Another piece, unfortunately the photo was shaken due to the low light and long exposure.


You can also see from his early paintings he was a very competent conventional painter if he wanted to be.

But the museum wasn't the only party going after tourist money. In a nearby souvenir shop were these distorted watches after the limp watches in his famous The Persistence of Memory.


I found the museum fascinating. Some works were delightful, some left me cold. But they all showed something of the eccentric that he was.