El Salvador was given the crucifixion of Christ from Saint John. Dali: Crucifixion as Ascension

The main shocker of his time, a provocateur and a noble hooligan from art, who glorified his name throughout the centuries... It would seem that this man consists of continuous contradictions and antics! He loved to walk with an anteater along the streets of European capitals, gorged himself on lollipops, wore an incredible mustache, and all his life he adored one woman - Russian by birth - who was 11 years older than him.

Salvador Dali is that rare case when genius is spoken about publicly during his lifetime. He devoted himself to art; he could create only by completely surrendering to the process. “The Crucifixion, or the Hypercubic Body” is one of his most famous paintings.

Biblical theme in Dali's works

Salvador Dali in his work more than once resorted to biblical stories. Moreover, he created a whole series of illustrations for an exclusive edition of the Bible. The Pope himself blessed him to write 105 works.

The painting “Crucifixion, or Hypercubic Body” was made in Dali’s traditional manner. The characters are written with photographic precision. The plot of the picture is not an attempt to illustrate a biblical story, but rather his own interpretation, in which the author, as usual, tries to connect the existing reality with others: fictional, fantastic or quite possible.

Hypercube

The first thing that attracts the attention of the viewer of the picture is the cross on which Christ hangs. The fact is that this is not a cross at all, but a scan of a hypercube, otherwise called a tasseract. This is not just a play of genius with form and space, but a completely clear message from the artist, symbolizing the sad truth that Jesus was crucified because of coldness and callousness.

Image of Christ

The posture of the crucified Jesus is no less important. While working on the painting “The Crucifixion, or the Hypercubic Body,” Salvador Dali was able to give the figure of Christ such a position that the viewer freezes while looking at him. Tension emanates from the appearance, and the suffering of Christ is very strongly felt. His forced pose, bulging rib cage, the face turned away from the viewer - everything speaks of the torment he is experiencing.

Unchanging Gala

Dali’s eternal muse and love of his life, Gala, is also present in the painting “The Crucifixion, or the Hypercubic Body.” She stands in the left corner, and Christ appears before her gaze. Gala does not look away, but contemplates Him, frozen in a respectful half-bow. Her figure is dressed in draperies, as if before us is a wanderer.

History of the painting

Dali painted The Crucifixion, or the Hypercubic Body in 1954. In parallel with his work on the painting, he kept a diary. Researchers of his work say that he rarely described the progress of his work in such detail.

The dimensions of the painting are quite impressive: the height is 194.5 cm and the width is 124 cm.

The painting is currently kept in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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I often listen with horror to guides what they say to groups of tourists in our temple. Often, for example, the image on the altar is called the “Cross of John the Baptist.” It is clear that neither the journalist, nor the guide, nor the teacher need to have an idea of ​​​​what they are telling. But I would really like to think that for visitors to the temple it is important not only to look at the alien customs and practices of the “church”. Still, the painting is called “Christ of St. John of the Cross.”

I tried to correct it and translated something for her from Spanish. Dali himself wrote very well about the painting: ... first of all, in 1950, I saw " cosmic dream”, in which this picture appeared to me in color and which in my dream was the “nucleus of an atom”. This core then took on a metaphysical meaning and I saw it as the core constituent of the Universe - Christ! Secondly, when, thanks to the instructions of Father Bruno, a Carmelite, I saw a drawing of Christ drawn by St. John of the Cross, I developed a geometric triangle and circle in which all my previous experiences were “aesthetically” summarized, and I inscribed my drawing of Christ in this triangle. Initially, I did not want to depict all the attributes of the crucifixion - nails, crown of thorns, etc. .- and turn the blood into red carnations in the arms and legs, with three jasmine flowers dropped into the wound on the side. But it was only until the end that my decision was changed by the second vision, perhaps because of the Spanish proverb that says: “not enough Christ, too much blood.” In this second dream I saw a picture without anecdotal attributes: only the metaphysical beauty of Christ the God. ... My aesthetic ambitions lie in the fact that the canvas is the opposite of all images of Christ made contemporary artists, who applied an expressionistic style, evoking emotion through ugliness. My the main task lies in depicting the beauty of Christ as God, in what He represents.

These words allow us to understand something else - how different Dali is from the caricatured character that he appears to us from the words of other guides. Everyone who has been to Figueres, Pubol, and Dali museums knows this classic chewing gum. First served as the best main fact Dali's biography states that he was married to a Russian. Then the biography of Gala’s parents and her childhood full of misfortunes are described in detail. Then the guide goes on to their full of obscene details. family life, and then talks about Dali’s shocking antics and market prices for prints of his engravings. When, in the basement of the theater-museum in Figueres, I tried to make out the fantastically clearly drawn Medusa, even then this image of a clown seemed dubious to me. This is true. The painting “Christ of St. John of the Cross” is a clear result of the work of a philosopher, a theologian, if you like.

Another thing that this picture allows you to pay attention to is the personality of St. John of the Cross, not, of course, the baptist, but St. Juan De La Cruz, the great Spanish mystic, theologian Dark Night. It is this, the Dark Night, that Dali depicts at the top of the canvas. The absence of other people in the picture, that is, the absence of emotions in it, corresponds to the idea of ​​St. John. Probably, emotions somehow correspond to our lusts. I love it = I crave it. I don't like it = I want it to die. St. John considered the absence of emotions, “dryness,” to be a sure sign of the soul’s path to the ascent of the Mountain in the Dark Night. The thirst for God should probably really be super-sensual, super-emotional. That is, we don’t like to breathe or we don’t like to drink. We cannot exist without it. John does not write that one cannot exist without God, just as one cannot exist without air; that would be too simple. He writes about the path of a soul that has lost the emotional component from closeness with Him (as having lost its necessity), but has not yet learned to use the spiritual, direct contemplation of Him. About the Bride who is looking for the Groom in the night. She is not happy to be in the emptiness of the Night. She is not driven by romantic feelings or lustful impulses. She understands that she cannot exist except to seek, to thirst with her being. Her only feeling is longing, thirst, but not lust.

) in 1950-1952.

Plot and symbolic meaning

Despite the fact that many of Dali’s paintings are provocative and experimental in nature, in this work the author tried to embody a deep religious and mystical meaning. Salvador Dali was inspired to paint the painting by a drawing made by Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591), who depicted his ecstatic vision of the Crucifixion from above, as if through the eyes of the Father. The cross in this picture acts as a bridge between God the Father and the mortal world depicted at the bottom of the picture. Dali claimed that he, like John of the Cross, was visited by two ecstatic visions, in which the idea for this work was formed. Salvador Dali himself explained the idea of ​​this painting as follows:

... first of all, in 1950, I had a “cosmic dream” in which this picture appeared to me in color and which in my dream was the “nucleus of an atom”. This core then took on a metaphysical meaning and I saw it as the core constituent of the Universe - Christ! Secondly, when, thanks to the instructions of Father Bruno, a Carmelite, I saw a drawing of Christ drawn by St. John of the Cross, I developed a geometric triangle and circle in which all my previous experiences were “aesthetically” summarized, and I inscribed my drawing of Christ in this triangle. Initially I did not want to depict all the attributes of the crucifixion - nails, crown of thorns, etc. .- and turn the blood into red carnations in the arms and legs, with three jasmine flowers dropped into the wound on the side. But it was only until the end that my decision was changed by the second vision, perhaps because of the Spanish proverb that says: “not enough Christ, too much blood.” In this second dream I saw a picture without anecdotal attributes: only the metaphysical beauty of Christ the God. ... My aesthetic ambition is that the painting is the opposite of all images of Christ made by modern artists who used an expressionist manner, evoking emotion through ugliness. My main concern is to portray the beauty of Christ as God, what He represents.

Story

The artist was so serious about completing this work that he did not want to leave the first sketch. In order for the paint in this painting to dry in time, Dali installed central heating in the house in Port Ligat. In 1961, a mentally ill visitor tore the bottom of the canvas by throwing a brick at it, but the painting was successfully restored. During the closure of the Kelvingrow Museum (1993-2006) the painting was in the Museum religious life and the art of St. Mungo's. In 2006, Scotland's favorite paintings won 29% of the votes. The Spanish government offered $127 million for the painting, but the offer was rejected.

Artistic techniques

There are two in the picture different perspectives, exactly converging at the vanishing point of perspective. The bottom of the picture is executed in a traditionalist manner. This fragment of the painting is inspired by the works of Le Nain and Velazquez.

Liturgical meaning

Despite the non-canonical depiction of the Passion of Christ, a fresco copy from the painting is located in the altar of the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Samara.

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Passage characterizing Christ of Saint John of the Cross

"Christ of St. John on the Cross" is one of the most famous paintings Salvador Dali. In 1951, the artist switched to the position of Catholic surrealism, and the frightening images born of the darkness of the subconscious were replaced in his work by a new interpretation of Christian symbols. Like much of Dali's art, this painting is associated with the Spanish spiritual tradition.

Dali's Saint John is Juan de la Cruz (1542 - 1591), a famous mystical poet who lived during the Catholic Reform. He was born in an impoverished noble family and in his youth he joined the Carmelite monastic order, which attracted him with its strict rules.

Salvador Dali (Salvador Domenec Felip Jacint Dali i Domenech, Marques de Dali de Pubol, May 11, 1904 - January 23, 1989) - spanish painter, graphic artist, sculptor, director, writer. One of the most famous representatives surrealism.

Description of the painting by Salvador Dali “The Crucifixion of Christ from St. John”

The work of art written by Dali shows a mystical poet named Juan de la Cruz, who is of Spanish origin. He appears to the viewer in the image of St. John, who in the world was considered a champion of human freedom. The Church and its representatives cannot act as God or be his mediator. She can only provide assistance in solving everyday problems people by supporting them verbally. In those days, this was an unattainable dream, since religion turned out to be a kind of weapon in the hands of power structures.

Juan de la Cruz is famous for his theory human development, which came from a rational component, beyond the control ordinary people. He sees life as a religious procession in the darkness, from which not everyone will be able to get out. Each of those living on earth, like Christ himself, must move towards ensuring that his soul is reunited with the Mysteries of Existence and is able to cast aside all worldly problems, finding peace. Only suffering will open the way to Heaven.

Dali revered this theory, so on canvas he combined the features of what was close to him in spirit.

By examining the canvas over and over again, you can find new details in it. And this is not surprising, because the author used more than one plot at once, combining them into one line. The surface of the sea and the fisherman’s boat are associated with enlightenment, as evidenced by the bright sky beyond the horizon. It’s calling you to start better life. The black abyss is the image of Christ suffering for humanity. The red shades of the sky represent suffering and sacrifice. And the darkness of the background speaks of loneliness. Tying together a symbolic cross of man and Divine cross, Dali seems to be hinting at the depth of philosophical secrets.

A painting can have a dual effect on consciousness: it pleases the eye and causes a depressing state.