Rhinocéros en désintégration 1950

Salvador Dalí made this watercolour, Rhinocéros en désintégration. Look at the way the beast seems to float and dissolve on the page, like he’s figuring it out as he goes along. The washes of colour blend into the paper, creating a strange, dreamlike space. What could Dali have been thinking as he was painting? He’s got a rhinoceros, broken down, in pieces. The shapes are rendered with delicate precision, which contrasts with the surreal and somewhat chaotic composition. I can’t help but think of other artists who’ve pushed the boundaries of perception like Remedios Varo. There’s a shared interest in the metaphysical, an almost scientific curiosity about how things fit together. But with Dalí, there’s also this wild, unbridled imagination. Painting, like everything else, becomes a stage for his personal mythology. Ultimately, artists are inspired by each other, exchanging ideas and challenging conventions to find new ways of seeing.