Focus on The Colossus of Rhodes (Dalí) and discuss the Themes.
Dalí's most recognised works date from before 1940, when he was preoccupied with the subconscious and the nature of perception. The Persistence of Memory, the work with which he is most identified, was painted in 1931, and represented a decade that saw Dalí firmly within the avant-garde. His move to the United States in 1940 caused financial pressures, but brought to the fore his flair for showmanship, helping to develop his relationship with Hollywood. As World War II ended, Dalí's work turned towards the historical and religious, fused with aspects from modern culture and commercial art.The Colossus of Rhodes exemplifies Dalí's preoccupations with cinema, history, and science, and his loosening grip on surrealism. It is only marginally surrealist—the god of the sun shields himself from his domain—and resembles a poster, befitting a work commissioned for a film. Dali's Colossus resembles comic-book superheroes and, particularly in the preparatory version, the Statue of Liberty. Compared with Maryon's paper, writes the scholar Godefroid de Callataÿ, the painting "does not look extremely original". Dalí copied the likeness of the Colossus put forth by Maryon, clearly depicting hammered plates of bronze, and showing the same tripod structure of a figure supported by a piece of drapery.
Statue of Liberty surrealism avant-garde comic-book superheroes surrealist modern culture Colossus of Rhodes Rhodes bronze commercial art Hollywood subconscious The Persistence of Memory