Description
1946, SALVADOR DALÍ 48 YEARS OLD
In April 1951 Dalí published his “Mystical Manifesto” in which he proclaimed the arrival of the era of mystical painting, which had its first representative in Dalí himself. On September 3, 1951, the painter accompanied Gala to a sumptuous masquerade dance organized by the tycoon Carlos de Beistegui at the Labia Palace in Venice. Qualified as “the dance of the century”, the event was the first big party of high society after the Second World War and gathered more than a thousand guests. Dalí and Gala attended dressed as gigantic Venetian ghosts. The spectacular dresses had been designed by the couple, and the prestigious French couturier Christian Dior was in charge of making them. On November 11, he took part in the first Hispano-American Art Biennial, a contest promoted by the Franco regime. The painter delivered the conference “Picasso and I”, where he stated: “Picasso is Spanish; Me too. Picasso is a genius; Me too. Picasso is about 72 years old; me, about 48. Picasso is known worldwide; Me too. Picasso is a communist; me neither.” To underline his ideological distance from the author of Guernica. In his speech, Dalí also openly defended General Franco, who, in the words of the painter, had established “clarity, truth, and order in the country in one of the most anarchic moments in the world.
