We
crossed the Spanish border this morning on our way from Carcassone to
Girona via Figueres 207 k's & 2 ¼ hours drive.
We
spent about three hours in Figueres (Spain), the birthplace of artist
Salvador Dalí, it houses the Teatre-Museu
Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museum designed by Dalí himself.
The
building itself is a monument to Catalonia's most eccentric artist.
Bread rolls and eggs feature heavily on the exterior and inside it's
filled with
the single largest and most diverse collection of works by Salvador
Dalí, the core of which was from the artist's personal collection.
In addition to Dalí paintings from all decades of his career, there
are Dalí sculptures, 3-dimensional collages, mechanical devices, and other curiosities from Dalí's imagination.
This
painting has two parts...I thought its was a nude but Andrew could see
Abraham Lincoln.
A
highlight is a 3- dimensional anamorphic living room installation with custom furniture that looks like the face of Mae West when
viewed from a certain spot. The lips are a lounge suite!
Dalí
is buried in a crypt below the floor
in the main part of the building.
An
adjoining building houses the
collection of thirty-nine Dali jewels in gold and precious stones as
well as drawings and paintings on paper that Salvador Dalí made for
the jewels designs between 1941 and 1970.
Eye
of Time (1949) has a timepiece set in the blue part of the eye.
My
personal favourite is The Royal Heart (1953), it's description....18
karat yellow gold; Natural rubies, mixed cut (round and oval); Small
stones on the crown; Natural rubies; Natural sapphires; Natural
emeralds; Aquamarines; Peridots; Hessonite garnets; Amethysts;
Diamonds; Pearls.
It has a moving mechanism which
makes the heart beat!
I'll
try to attach a video...
I'll
finish with a couple of photos of Dali himself,
the first taken in
one of the stairwells...
These prompted Andrew to
comment “this guy was deranged”.
Before
heading to Girona we wandered around Figures and found a little cafe
where we had some lunch...Dali sculptures are scattered around the
area.
We're
now very happily settled in to our apartment in Girona, it's very
modern and spacious. Our first impression of the town is very
positive, we had a stroll around the area to get our bearings and
we're really looking forward to exploring it tomorrow. You might be
able to find me sitting on the steps of the cathedral in this final
photo...I'm way up the top, look just below the door.
Oops...nearly forgot to add this one in...it's a photo of the citadel we visited yesterday. Andrew took this photo as we left today...
We walked 9.9 k's today
