The Elephants

E42958

The Elephants is a surrealist painting by Salvador Dalí featuring elongated, spindly-legged elephants that symbolize the contrast between weight and fragility.


Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf painting
surrealist painting
artist Salvador Dalí
artisticPeriodOfCreator Dalí’s surrealist period
associatedWithArtist Salvador Dalí’s recurring elephant motif
colorPalette contrasting tones
dreamlike
countryOfOrigin Spain
creator Salvador Dalí
creatorNationality Spanish
depicts elephants
elongated elephants
spindly-legged elephants
genre Surrealism
hasArtHistoricalContext 20th-century modern art
hasArtTechnique illusionistic rendering
precise draftsmanship
hasCulturalSignificance iconic example of Dalí’s surreal animal imagery
hasInterpretation commentary on unstable foundations of power
exploration of paradox between strength and vulnerability
hasMood dreamlike
unsettling
hasPerspective distorted
dreamlike space
hasStyle surrealist
hasSubjectMatter monumental animals
surreal landscape
hasSymbolism fragility
instability
power
weight
hasTheme contrast between weight and fragility
hasTitle The Elephants
influencedBy Freudian psychoanalysis
dream imagery
languageOfTitle English
medium oil paint
movement Surrealism
notableFor exaggeratedly long, thin legs of elephants
symbolic use of animals
visual tension between mass and delicacy
sharesMotifsWith Dalí’s painting "The Temptation of St. Anthony"
surface canvas
usesMotif elephant
long legs
obelisks
workOf Salvador Dalí

Referenced by (4)

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