Les Vendangeurs 1954

Salvador Dali made this watercolor, titled Les Vendangeurs, sometime in the 20th century, and he uses a fairly muted palette to conjure a vivid dreamscape. The paint handling is very controlled, allowing him to create precise, linear forms with subtle washes. There's a peculiar sense of scale at play here. The elephants and the figures all appear to be engaged in their own dramas, yet they coexist in the same ethereal space. The elephants, with their spindly legs, are like fantastic creatures from a storybook. In the center of the scene, we see a figure elevated upon a cloud, with a butterfly strangely attached to their body. Dali emphasizes this figure through contrast, making them the focal point of the composition. Dali's dreamscapes remind me a little of Max Ernst's surrealist collages, where disparate elements are brought together to create uncanny and unsettling images. Art really invites us to let go of our expectations and embrace the unexpected.