13. Characteristics of Dali’s work
He uses: His work is:
butterflies colourful
watches lively
elephants different
eggs unrealistic
The human being abstract
nudity creative
skulls cheerful…
horses…
14. Group no.1 – Interpretation of painting no. 8
In this painting the dominant visual element is an open book. The background is
a lovely blue that depicts the sky.
Roots come out of the ground and keep the book grounded to earth.
In the middle of the book there’s a butterfly holding a cocoon from which a new
butterfly emerges. The book might represent life and birth with the butterfly
being depicted in bright and lively colours.
In the middle of the pages we can see other wings, which might be from past
butterflies that aided the birth and development of the butterfly that’s now in
the foreground.
Because of what has been said we think that this painting might represent not
only life but also knowledge.
15. Group no.2 – Interpretation of painting no.3
In the centre of this painting there is a vessel sailing the sea. The ships’ sails are
made of butterflies.
There are naked men depicted standing on some rocks, holding butterfly nets.
The predominant colours are blue and green, the colours of the sky and of the
sea.
The shape of the clouds reminds us of waves.
The colourful butterflies might represent freedom, and in this painting they might
also represent the sails. A ship without sails can’t leave port, just as we can’t live
without freedom and the men depicted in this painting seem to want to capture
freedom.
In our opinion, the theme of this painting is freedom and the fight to reach it.
16. Group no.3 – Interpretation of painting no. 6
In this painting the elephants are the main elements. In the foreground we have
two elephants with a tuba as their head instead of the usual trunk.
Behind the elephants we can see a volcano. In the background we see the sky
with very clear clouds shaped in a way that remind us of a music sheet.
By the elephants we see white swans.
The image has lively colours with a predominance of blues and browns.
The savannah is an orchestra, where the animals represent the music and the
plants are the instruments because they help playing the songs. Another music
reference is that if we look at the deer, we can see that the antlers were depicted
as a harp.
The theme of this painting is the joy that music bring us.
17. Group no.4 – Interpretation of painting no. 9
The main theme in this image is a human face, a deformed one, with a big nose,
no hair, and an ear made out of cloth. It looks like a balloon being held on by
stilts.
In the horizon we can see a village, a boat and a dog. In this painting the sky is
dark blue.
The face depicted has a mournful expression, and it seems as if it is unconscious ..
18. Group no. 5 – Interpretation of painting no.1
This painting depicts naked human figures and animals. It shows three elephants
and two horses with exaggerated long legs moving. They carry monuments on
their backs.
These long figures suggest movement, commotion.
In the corner of the image we see a man with a cross being used to scare the
animals.
The horse in the foreground has such a marking expression that it is almost as if
we can hear its neigh.
The theme in this painting is the sharing of the world, by both animals and
humans who cross the clouds living together and sharing the world.
19. Group no.6 – Interpretation of painting no. 7
Dali’s painting shows a skull and the figurine of a ballerina that is a part of the
skull itself.
The predominant colour is black. Both the colour and the image make us draw
the conclusion that it is meant to depict death.
We find it a weird and shocking painting.
A peculiarity we found interesting is how well the ballerina is meshed with the
skull, what makes it look like as if the skull’s teeth are a part of the ballerina’s
skirt.
The ballerina’s position might represent joy and life, since it gives us a sense of
movement, dance.
We think that the theme is about life not only the bad things but also the good
ones. It’s not just sadness, but also joy.
32. Class: 5th I
Teachers: Ana Maria Rainho, Cláudia
Braz and Helena Pires
Directed by Manuela Baptista
Escola Básica de Rio Tinto nº2
(Basic School of Rio Tinto nr2)
Portugal
