In Voluptas Mors
1951
Surrealism
Gelatin silver print
The viewer initially sees a skull but a deeper observation of “In Voluptas Mors” reveals seven female nudes. Dali’s precision in the sketch for this piece took the photographer Philippe Halsman over three hours to realize. It is an excellent example of Dali’s many and various experiments with optical illusion and visual perception. One can either see a skull or seven nudes but not both at the same time.
Salvador Dali
Surrealism, Surrealist Sculpture, Biomorphism, Assemblage
Born: 11 May 1904, Catalonia, Spain
Nationality: Spanish
Died: 23 January 1989, Catalonia, Spain
Dali was a surrealist artist known for his technical skill, precision draftsmanship, and the striking and often bizarre nature of his images. Initially influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance he became increasingly interested in Cubism and the avant-garde movements of the time. By the late 1920s, he joined the Surrealist group of artists and became one of its leading exponents
