Portrait of My Father

Portrait of My Father is an oil on canvas painting by Salvador Dalí, created in 1925, depicting his father, Salvador Rafael Aniceto Dalí Cusí. It is now in the National Art Museum of Catalonia, in Barcelona.

History Dalí held his first exhibition at the Galeries Dalmau in Barcelona in 1925, before making his first trip to Paris and moving towards Surrealism. This portrait is considered one of the best from his early period, even by Dalí himself, coinciding with his return to Figueres after his final expulsion from the Academy. Dalí focused on the severe expression of his face and especially in the piercing eyes. The portrait demonstrates the forceful character of his father, who was a notary in Figueres, and with whom he had a difficult relationship. The technical mastery the young painter had already achieved at this time can be noticed in the cleanly drawn outlines, the treatment of light and shade and the expressive power of the sombre tone.Artwork commented at museum's website

The technical mastery of the young painter is demonstrated in the sharply drawn profile, the treatment of light and shadows, and in the expressive power of the sober tones. Dalí's work shows a man with character, imposing and majestic, depicted from a three-quarter perspective. His gaze is directed at the viewer sharply, as if he didn't wanted to lose sight of his bright and rebellious son.Rafael Santos Torroella, El primer Dalí 1918, 1929. Catálogo razonado, IVAM i Publicacions de la Residencia de Estudiantes, 2005, p. 414 (Spanish)

The posture adopted by the father in this painting resembles the artist's Portrait of Father and Sister (1925); but in this case, he appears dressed with more informal clothing and holding a pipe.Salvador Dalí, La vida secreta de Salvador Dalí. Obra completa, Barcelona, Ediciones Destino, Fundació Gala - Salvador Dalí, 2003, vol 1, p. 589 (Spanish)

Exhibits 1925, Barcelona, Galeries DalmauExposició S. Dalí, núm. cat. 5, il. 1962, Madrid, Casón del Buen RetiroExposición de pintura catalana : desde la prehistoria hasta nuestros días, núm. cat. 187, il. 1964, Tokyo, Tokyo Prince Hotel GallerySalvador Dalí : exhibition - Japan 1964, núm. cat. 11 1979, Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée National d'Art ModerneSalvador Dalí: rétrospective, 1920-1980, núm. cat. 18 1983, Madrid, Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo400 obras de Salvador Dalí del 1914 al 1983, núm. cat. 96 1985, London, Hayward GalleryHomage to Barcelona : the city and its arts, 1888-1936, núm. cat. 58 1986, Lausanne, Fondation de l'HermitageTrésors de Barcelone, núm. cat. 46 1987, Kobe, The Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Modern ArtHomage to Catalonia - Barcelona art city, núm. cat. 116 1987, Barcelona, Palau de la VirreinaHomenatge a Barcelona : la ciutat i les seves arts, 1888 -1936, núm. cat. 218 1989, Stuttgart, StaatsgalerieSalvador Dalí, 1904-1989, núm. cat. 41 1989, Humlebaek, Louisiana Museum of Modern ArtSalvador Dalí, núm. cat. 5 1994, London, Hayward Gallery Salvador Dalí: the early years, núm. cat. 65 1998, Liverpool, Tate Gallery LiverpoolSalvador Dalí: a mythology, núm. cat. 1 2004, Venezia, Palazzo GrassiDalí, núm. cat. 34 2007, London, Tate ModernDalí & Film, Fig. 66 2007, Madrid, Museo Thyssen Bornemisza - Fundación Caja MadridEl Espejo y la máscara : el retrato en el siglo de Picasso, núm. cat. 76

See also List of works by Salvador Dalí

References