Salvador Dali - Christ of the Valleys

A must-see when discussing Surrealism, Salvador Dalí 's Cristo del Vallés , a 1962/63 work offered at auction by Christie's , focuses on the mystical theme . It is the first of two large paintings created between 1962 and 1963 depicting a dematerialized Christ appearing in the Catalan sky of Vallés. The subject recalls the disastrous flood that occurred on September 25, 1962, but above all, it is a subject chosen because of the artist's interest in Francis Crick and James Watson's recent discovery of the molecular structure of DNA . The second of these two works dedicated to the dematerialization of Christ bears the unpronounceable title Galacidalacidesoxyribonucleicacid and depicts DNA molecules forming and disintegrating beneath a celestial vision of Christ in the clouds over the valley. The dematerialization of Christ was an important concept for Dalí. The artist was convinced that the age of materialism was over and that new discoveries in science would bring a younger generation closer to religious faith and mysticism. After completing his Christ of Saint John of the Cross in 1951, Dalí wrote in his Mystical Manifesto , "I want my next painted Christ to express all the joy and beauty that no one else has painted to this day. I want to paint a Christ who will be the absolute antithesis of Grunewald's materialistic and anti-mystical Christ." It seems that Dalí was working on this work at the very moment the flood devastated the area, and this led him to adapt it to relate to the disaster that had just occurred. Thus, the image of the crucified Christ appearing above the valley becomes the emblem of salvation through suffering . To render this immaterial entity, Dalí employed a new technique, developed after a series of experiments. It involves a highly diluted oil paint mixed with turpentine, which he stains the canvas with varying degrees of intensity and opacity. In this way, the giant specter of Christ seems to merge with the clouds above the valley. Only the crown of thorns and the blood from the wound in his side are hyperrealistic, as is the solitary figure of a bishop praying with his head bowed, before noticing the apparition.

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