Salvador Dali

Question 1 of the Higher Art and Design exam is an extended response based on a work of Art you will have studied in class. You could be asked to discuss any of the visual elements or expressive effects seen throughout this site.

Sample Question:

Select one artwork you have studied.

With reference to this one artwork, explain the:

artist’s working methods
artist’s choice of subject matter
impact of social, cultural and/or other influences. 10

The final prompt, asking for impact of social, cultural and/or other influences, will always be asked, so this is an area of the artists work you should ensure you study and learn carefully.

Still Life By Moonlight

Date: 1926

Technique: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 199 x 150 cm

Signature: Signed lower left corner: Salvador Dali

Visual Elements

Colour

Dali has used dark blues for the foreground and background to create a dark and gloomy scene, this dense blue is broken up by a faint orange line which creates a contrast to the darkness.
The red, yellows and oranges used in the angular shape and objects in the midground creates a bright focal point for the viewer.
The warm colours used jump off of the page as they are advancing colours and contrast with the blues in the foreground and background.
The bright beige colour used for the guitar and fish helps to link all the objects together, this and the softness of the tone helps to create the illusion of flaccidness.
Underneath the red Dali has placed a small blue fish which is the most realistically painted object in the composition. The little blue fish contrasts with the red and the beige further adding to the paintings surreal quality.

Tone

Dali has used very little tone within this piece which adds to the flattened cubist appearance.
The Guitar and fish have a very soft subtle tone, this was done to add to the soft flaccid appearance rather than to make them look 3D
The background includes some highlights on the water this has been done to give some sense of perspective and to show that it is water.

Shape

Dali’s use of shape is largely flat and unrealistic, the fish are elongated and unnatural looking and the guitar looks bendy due to the curved shape.
The surface that the guitar and bust are sitting on is irregular and angular, it is this red shape that gives the painting a cubist feel.
Dali has made the shape of the building in the background angular, showing it at an odd perspective this creates a diagonal line to the centre of the painting.
Dali has included areas of black negative shape around the bottom of the painting where the material and wooden struts begin. He has done this to push the viewers eye up through the painting to the middle.

Line

Dali has used thick broad but softly painted lines to create the reflection on the water, this gives the piece a sense of depth.
The rest of the foreground and background is mainly made up of thin, broken and scratchy lines, these are here both to describe the objects but also to act as leading lines that guide the viewer through the painting.
Dali has also used a series of descriptive lines on the objects, without these lines the viewer would not be able to understand what the objects are supposed to be as they are otherwise flat and misshaped.

Texture

Dali has painted the guitar and fish to give them a soft, squishy texture almost like they are about to melt. He has done this to add to the surreal dream like quality of the painting.
The wooden board and red surface the objects are sitting on look like they have a hard texture. Dali will have done this to create a contrast between the softness of the objects and the surface they are sitting on.
The material looks stiff and inflexible as if it would be stiff to the touch, this is due to the straight inflexible lines that it comprises of. The material here is not meant to be viewed as real it is just a device for leading the eye.
Nothing in this painting has a realistic texture, this adds to the surreal look of the piece.

Composition
Dali has used a series of orange leading lines to construct this composition, helping to lead the viewers eye up from the bottom left of the composition round the canvas to the top and down into the middle.
By grouping the main objects together in the midground of the composition Dali creates a focal point for the viewer.
The use of geometric flattened shapes create a flat section in the middle of the composition with little depth, this creates a stark contrast with the background scene which has a sense of depth.
Dali creates a sense of energy and movement through the use of rough unfinished lines which pull the viewers eyes diagonally across the canvas.

Media Handling and Techniques

Rough brushwork creates an unfinished look in the background, this helps to pull your focus back to the objects.
A pallet knife has been used to scrape line work into the dark heavy paint used in the fore ground and background. By exposing the canvas in places Dali effectively breaks up the heaviness of the dark scene.
The use of smoothly painted blocks of colour create a contrast with the background and give the painting a cubist feel.
Smooth soft paint blending has been used within the guitar and fish to create the soft flowing and melted appearance.

Subject Matter or imagery
Dali was often inspired (some called it obsessed by) themes of death. The imagery of dead fish lying abandoned at the harbour help to explore this theme.
The block of red across the midground is also used to help symbolise death as red has connotations of blood, this is a fitting back drop for the dead flaccid fish.
Dali often used symbols of religion in his work and here is no different as we see fish which are often a symbol of Christianity.
The plaster bust in this painting is both a symbol of Dali’s admiration of Picasso's work and his close friendship with Lorca.
Dali has purposely placed a guitar, plaster head and fish together in order to create a surreal scene. He has also elongated the fish in a way that resembles human limbs, this further promotes the theme of death.

Style

Dali was heavily influenced by the cubist movement , you can see this in the style of this painting. Especially in the angular geometric table surface as it is flat and sitting at an odd angle.
Dali was an excellent draftsman and often said once a person had studied the old masters and perfected their technique then they could do anything. Often his works despite being unusual were routed in traditional style.
This painting mixes the genre’s of still life and landscape, this further helps to create a surreal quality to the piece.
Whilst using a traditional painting style to paint this Dali has created a scene which has its roots in Surrealism. The surrealist painters were known for creating dream like scenes.

Mood and Atmosphere

Dali has created an unsettling atmosphere within this painting through his use of gloomy dark colours, this is a scene set in the dead of night which gives the painting a sinister mood.
The use of yellow/orange in the moon and line work further adds to the eeriness of the scene as the orange looks ghostly next to the darkness.
The scene Dali has created is like that of a bad dream, an odd combination of soft melted objects come together to make the viewer feel uneasy.

Social and Cultural Influences
Dali was directly inspired by Cubism in this piece, this can be seen in the odd angular shapes and flat blocks of colour used to represent the tables in the mid section of the canvas.
Still life by Moonlight was also directly influenced by Picasso's painting ‘Studio with Plaster Head’ this is most obviously seen in the plaster bust sitting on the red table.
Dali was also inspired by Surrealism when painting this piece, we can see this in the guitar and fish placed on the table as they are soft, flaccid and as well as being an odd combination of objects also seem to have a strange quality to them.
The melted quality of the objects also later inspired the melted watches in one of Dali’s most famous paintings ‘The persistence of Memory’. He was quoted as saying “Rather than the guitar as a dry object, I have painted a guitar that is soft an viscose like the fishes. This painting directly influenced by Picasso is clearly the precursor of my soft watches”.
Still Life by Moonlight was also inspired by Dali’s friendship with Federico Garcia Lorca, this can be seen in the plaster bust which is said to be a portrait of Lorca himself.
Dali was also inspired by Freudian theory, where he tries to merge dreams with reality, this can been seen in the unusual grouping of objects and the soft melted appearance they take.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse