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The Hallucinogenic Toreador
Date: 1969-70
Material Used: Oil on canvas
Size: 157 x 118 inches
A toreador is a bullfighter, one of the great heroes of Spanish culture. This work is arguably Dali's most ambitious double image painting, but surprisingly, this monumental canvas has humble origins. When shopping for art supplies, Dali purchased a box of Venus-brand pencils. Staring at the Venus de Milo on the box, he glimpsed a face within the shadows. This simple experience led to one of Dali's most complex paintings. Created over 16 months, this work overflows with flies, Venus statues, and other Dalinian images gathered inside a large bullring. Yet in the center of the canvas these images transform into the face Dali had glimpsed earlier one of the great Dali experiences.
At the center of the canvas, the Venus' green skirt becomes the bullfighter's tie. Above the tie is the white collar button of the bullfighter's shirt. Directly above that, the shadows crossing the Venus' stomach form the bullfighter's chin and lips. Her left breast forms the bullfighter's nose, and her face forms his eye. The contours of the bullfighter's face are defined by the shadow of the Venus in the red skirt. The same red skirt is also the bullfighter's cape hung over his shoulder. A cluster of dots and flies to the left of his tie becomes his sequined jacket.
As the toreador does battle with the bull, here Dali does battle with this complex visual illusion to help others see the world as he sees it. Dali leaves the viewer with several questions: Ultimately is this a celebratory or tragic picture? Is it a story of battle between man and beast, or a fated love story between Venus and the bullfighter? Is it an affirmation of the beauty in struggle or is it a heartrending tragedy?
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