Leoni 1966

Salvador Dalí made this watercolor painting, Leoni, sometime in the 1920s, and right away you can see his hand is loose, letting the watercolor flow, letting the images emerge from the colors, which is a process in itself. The materiality is all about the paper and the water. The paper looks absorbent, the kind that lets the colors bloom, so you get these soft edges and hazy shapes. Look at the way the green on the right bleeds into the white space, creating a sort of atmospheric effect, like a dreamy jungle. Then, there's that bright yellow circle in the middle, with those tiny figures inside, like a whole world contained within. I’m reminded of Hilma af Klint, how she used watercolors to explore spiritual dimensions. Dalí, too, seems to be using the medium to tap into something beyond the visible, inviting us to wander through his surreal landscape and find our own connections.