Deux faucons et la figure d’éléphant 1966

Salvador Dalí created this watercolor, Deux faucons et la figure d’éléphant, presenting a convergence of disparate symbols. Dominating the foreground are two falcons, birds historically associated with nobility and power, yet here they seem more like silent observers. The falcons evoke ancient Egyptian iconography, where the falcon-headed god Horus symbolized protection and royal authority. But consider how Dalí distorts this symbolism; the elephants in the background, with their spindly legs, defy physical plausibility, subverting the conventional image of the elephant as a symbol of strength and memory. This distortion reflects a deeper psychological tension—a dreamlike world where familiar symbols are unmoored from their traditional meanings. The motifs of power and strength are made vulnerable, eliciting an emotional response. Such imagery plays with our collective memory, tapping into subconscious fears and desires. Dalí’s cyclical progression invites us to question how symbols resurface and transform.