Allégorie; Brave Cécile 1967

Salvador Dali made 'Allegorie; Brave Cécile' with pen and ink in 1967, and right away, I am noticing how Dali uses the thinnest of lines to create such a monumental nude, it's as though he's building her up atom by atom. The blues feel very grounded, almost like a stage, and I like how they bleed into the thin washes of yellow and green that trace her outline. These subtle tones provide a sense of shifting light, which makes the stark black lines of her body really pop. And what about that single tear? It is, like, so dramatic! It's as though Dali's inviting us to project our own emotions onto this figure. It reminds me a little of some of Picasso's more graphic works, but with an added layer of theatricality, like a stage set for the subconscious. In a way, all paintings are allegories, aren't they?