Description
1929 – SALVADOR DALÍ 25 YEARS OLD
In 1929 Dalí participated in the script and production of a short film directed by Buñuel, entitled Un Chien Andalou, (An Andalusian dog), in which he also participated as an actor. Taking advantage of his stay in Paris, he established contacts in high society circles thanks to Miró. He liked his work so much that the art dealer Goemans offered him a contract with which Dalí could prepare a solo exhibition in Paris. At the beginning of June, Dalí was at the forefront of the avant-garde. At that time, Dalí returned to Figueres and settled in Cadaqués where he prepared his exhibition. At the beginning of August, Goemans, Magritte and their partners arrived in Cadaqués to spend the summer with Dalí. Buñuel and the surrealist poet Paul Éluard joined later with his wife Gala. The painter was immediately attracted to her. Gala confessed to him that his elegant appearance disgusted her. The Artist decided to radically change his clothing to attract his attention. He smeared his body with a paste made from lavender oil, fishtail, and goat dung. He cut off his shirt, stained his armpits with blood, and placed a red geranium behind his ear. Gala’s well-being became Dalí’s main concern. Dalí’s desperate attempts to seduce Éluard’s wife ended up yielding results. “Overnight, Dalí was no longer the same,” the filmmaker Buñuel assured. The affair ran into frontal opposition from the painter’s family. Gala was not only foreign, she was also 10 years older than the painter, and married. The father was so displeased that he changed his will, Dalí would only receive the minimum established by law. At the end of September, Gala returned to Paris and Dalí went back to work. While Dalí was working on the new paintings, his reputation continued to grow in Paris thanks to Un Chien Andalou. The exhibition was a success and all the exhibited paintings were sold. Later Dalí had a violent argument with his father. The notary had learned that his son had included in the exhibition a drawing of the Sacred Heart that showed the inscription “Sometimes, I spit for pleasure on the portrait of my mother”. Outraged by this affront to the memory of the dead Felipa Domènech, the father expelled Dalí from the family home. At the beginning of December Dalí received a letter from his father in which he informed him of the “irrevocable banishment” of the family. Dalí reacted by cutting off his hair and burying it on the beach. A few days later he took a taxi back to Paris. During the car ride, the painter avoided taking a last look at Cadaqués, as had been the custom on previous trips. Repudiated by his family, Dalí now thought only of the future.
