Don Quichotte 1964

Editor: This watercolor, titled "Don Quichotte," painted by Salvador Dalí in 1964, has such a dreamy quality to it. What do you see when you look at this piece? Curator: Immediately, I’m drawn to the materiality of the watercolor itself. Dalí, known for meticulous oil paintings, uses the fluid, unpredictable nature of watercolor here. Look at how the washes of color bleed and blend; how the artist employed the liquidity of the medium to make such an enduring image, considering his historical position among the avant-garde artists producing "high art." Where would he situate himself relative to artisanal production? Editor: I hadn't really considered how different this is from his other work! Curator: Exactly! It also challenges the established role of the artist's hand, as watercolor requires a degree of surrender to the medium. Does that spontaneity undermine or enhance his status as a visionary? We should consider too the reproducibility of the printmaking trade in art making at the time. He seems to reference this, too, as he made several images relating to Cervantes' Don Quixote character. Why the engagement with popular stories? Editor: That's a great point about printmaking in his work. Do you think the choice of a "looser" method allowed for wider distribution of the images? Curator: Precisely! We need to consider how that would bring surrealism and Dali's persona into the cultural and perhaps even the consumerist sphere of the moment. Also consider what meaning Don Quixote’s stories carried at that moment of cultural and social change. What does his choice of a more affordable material, like watercolor, say about Dalí’s intentions for reaching a broader audience or responding to the marketplace of the day? Editor: Wow, I will definitely consider the process and medium more closely moving forward. It totally changed the way I understand this image! Curator: Indeed! Exploring the material reality unveils unexpected insights into art's purpose, particularly when seen as situated firmly within specific processes of artistic making and distribution of images.