Docent guided tour enhances the visit
Written: Aug 22 '09 (Updated Aug 24 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Large collection. Better understanding with concentration on just one painter.
Cons: Expensive (but worth it).
The Bottom Line: Awesome collection. We're really glad we were able to take the tour because it made all the difference in understanding the artwork.
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| xyzwyatt's Full Review: Salvador Dali Museum, FL |
Salvador Dali has always been one of our favorite artists. Our latest vacation took us through St. Petersburg. There are plenty of things to do in St. Petersburg, but the Salvador Dali museum was on the top of our list.
Here's a little about what I got from the tour. Salvador Dali was born in 1904 in a small town called Figueres near Catalonia, Spain. He began painting at age 8. Once the guide showed us a picture of the landscape from his home town, it was easy to see the same landscape from that region, particularly a rock, painted in his artwork.
His father was not supportive of his son painting. The father had a boy that died before Salvador Dali was born. The father decided to name him the same name as the dead son and told Salvador Dali that he was the reincarnation of the dead boy. The father would play mind games like saying that he wished Salvordor Dali would have died instead of the other son. Dali' s beloved mother died when his was 16 years old. The father married his mother's sister.
Later in life Salvador Dali met Gala. She was Russian and much older than he was. His father, of course, didn't approve of her. Dali fell deeply in love with Gala and she began to appear in all of his paintings.
Dali clearly thought about both female and male sexuality a lot. It is expressed in probably 99 percent of his paintings in some way. He also expressed his interpretation on science, religion, and current events that were happening at the time.
Salvador Dali was a surreal artist. The artwork is expressed thorough emotion, a reflection of the unconscious mind. The artwork is intended to be more of a metaphor than a literal meaning. Most of the paintings look like they are from a dream, or a hallucination.
The tour guide goes into great detail of Dali's personal life and points out how his daily experiences may have been the reason for his thoughts and feelings that he brushed onto canvas. His artwork was always interesting to me, but I can look at the art in a more understanding way now based on the information that I gained on the tour. The most amazing paintings were at the end of the tour. Dali was able to paint two distinct pictures with tons of stuff going on in the inside of it. I did not even notice the two images until they were pointed out by the tour guide.
Probably the most amazing thing that distinguishes this museum from any run of the mill art museum is this entire building is dedicated to just one painter and reflects his entire career. According to the museum's site, the museum hosts the largest collection of Dalí's work outside of Spain, including eight masterworks and 96 oil paintings. They have a total of 2,140 Dalí paintings, prints, sculptures and drawings.
I think Salvador Dali was a very talented artist and through surrealism, he was able to express himself in ways that are much deeper than flowers in a vase or a portrait. There was a whole room dedicated to Salvador Dali's painting and drawings of just flowers and bouquets. He put his own twist on the flowers of course, so every flower would be in some way. For instance, Dali's flowers would have colorful butterfly wings to represent the leaves, or legs instead of stems. It's clear that it's a flower, but not one like exists in nature.
It is really amazing to see how a painter develops career wise. His personal story is also very interesting. The story is even more enhanced because the tour guide has extensive knowledge. She was very good at presenting, like storytelling rather than just a lecture or sighting facts. Since Dali just died in 1989, and famous before he died, the stories are fresh and the description of the artwork is from those who actually knew Salvador Dali.
I thought the way this museum was founded was also interesting. A. Reynolds Morse and Eleanor Reese were personal friends of Salvador Dali and Gala. They began collecting his work in the 40's and soon had the largest collection in the world. They moved the artwork to the very beautiful St. Petersburg area and funding from St. Petersburg and Florida organizations have enabled it to grow and break ground on a new building. Some of the artwork is original and some of the pieces rotate with other museums.
Salvador Dali was a self-proclaimed genius. I would of said no, I don't think so, until I got to the end of the tour where his amazing masterpieces are. By the time we were to the end of the building, later in his career, I went from fascinated to complete amazement. The paintings were true masterpieces and it completely amazed me how he could express those deep visions or thoughts into a painting. Even more complex was how he put two paintings into one.
Admission / Hours
Admission is $17 for adults, $4 for children. There is a discount for seniors and students. We used a coupon that we found in the hotel advertisements for a discount on the admission.
Hours vary so check their website for exact information, and the phone number to call for tour times. The tour is amazing and worth working your schedule around.
There is a distorted bench outside with a melting clock which is an excellent place for a keepsake photo. Photography is not allowed to be taken in the museum.
Taking our kids
We like to find things to do that all of the family will enjoy. My children (ages 6, 9, and 15) are constantly drawing at home and have expressed an interest in art so we were hoping the art museum may be of interest to them also. The reaction of our children alone was worth the trip. They hung on every word that the guide said and were tickled that they were able to pick out aspects of the paintings on their own. It was great to show them that artwork isn't always blue skies and green grass with a perfectly symmetric house. My kids really admired the paintings and I could tell they were fascinated by surrealism.
Despite the fact that his artwork is quite sensual, the kids didn't seem to notice so much. The guide was quite clever at pointing out aspects for the adults while keeping it child appropriate.
Gift shop
There is a large gift shop area that has a lot of fascinating quality items like hats, shirts, posters, books, post cards, jewelry, and perfume. The prices seemed reasonable for the type of merchandise. We thought the gift store was very interesting and found a bag full of tokens to bring home. We liked the uniqueness of the items. Most of the items are sold on their website under “store”.
The museum
I think anyone who appreciates Salvador Dali's artwork, or anyone interested in surreal art would love this museum. The museum is in a very nice part of town, next the the beautiful marina. This building is relaxing and air conditioned which makes an excellent choice for a hot day, or to fill the time on a rainy day. It is easy to get to and there are plenty of things to do nearby after the visit. There is a large parking lot free of charge for guests across the street. The building is well kept and the paintings are spread out with a natural flow for the guests. The individuals working in the museum were very knowledgeable and professional. They broke ground December 2008 on a new building which I'm sure will be amazing.
Overall
This is more than a museum that you walk in and look at a picture and say, oh I could have painted that. We were in the museum for 2.5 hours and ended up leaving without even seeing everything. The man produced artwork for 68 years, so there was definitely a lot to look at.
I am intrigued by his expression just amazed how he was able to create pictures inside of pictures on a canvas, some of which were taller than my walls at home. I can not stress enough how wonderful this museum is with the insight of the guide.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Students
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
xyzwyatt
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Location: Nashville, TN
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