The child of many talents, painter and sculptor Salvador Dalí also tried himself as a jeweler. Although it is wrong to call him a real master of jewelry, because he did not make items with his own hands, but generated ideas and drew sketches. At the same time, it is impossible to imagine that anyone other than the surrealist would create precious lips, hands, eyes and hearts. How did Dali manage to make this old dream come true?
Dali always called an ideal thing an object without a practical purpose. It should not have functions, it can only be admired and worn. And this is a piece of jewelry. For a long time, Salvador Dali nurtured the idea of creating his own collection in a surrealistic mood, and nevertheless waited for the gift of fate in the form of an acquaintance with two talented masters.
Dali as a jeweler: jewelry as art
For many years, the artist made sketches, thought over the combination of stones, selected options for using metals. And by 1941, Dali had finally matured to the active phase of the project and discussed the details of a possible collaboration with the Italian jewelry designer Duke Fulco di Verdura, who by that time became famous for his joint work with Paul Edmund Flato and Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel).
Verdura made cigarette cases, pill cases, brooches, on which were then placed pictures of El Salvador in miniature. By the end of the year, the partners presented a collection of five items, among which the most striking decoration was Meduza. But the search for the ideal continued.
In the same year, 1941, Dali met a novice jeweler from Argentina, Carlos Alemany, who ten years later took a chance and took up the realization of the surrealist’s bold fantasies. Almost all jewelry was created in a single copy, and, perhaps, it was the right decision, because an ideal piece is unique and should not have duplicates.
The collaboration of geniuses brought the world 39 pieces of jewelry, two of which were made according to the artist’s sketches after his death. The entire collection is collected in one place and is kept in a separate exhibition hall of the Dalí Theater-Museum in Figueres. And no one can call these bizarre little things ordinary jewelry, and Salvador Dali – a jeweler, because even in this area he remained true to himself. That there is a pulsating heart of 42 diamonds, 46 rubies and four emeralds.
Jewelry fantasies of Salvador Dali
