Coin of the day, day 11: SALVADOR DALÍ
SALVADOR DALÍ (2021) 8 REALES
Salvador Dalí i Domènech (Figueras, May 11 1904 to January 23 1989) was a twentieth-century Spanish painter, sculptor, engraver, stage designer and writer. He is considered to be one of the leading exponents of surrealism.
Salvador Dalí is known for his impactful, oneiric surrealist images. His pictorial skills are usually attributed to the influence of Renaissance art, which the painter greatly admired. He was also an expert draughtsman. In addition, Dalí’s plastic skills came to the fore in film, sculpture and photography, leading him to numerous collaborations with other audiovisual artists
From the late 1920s, Dalí gradually brought a number of strange or incongruous images into his work which lend themselves to a symbolic interpretation. While some of these images might point to a direct Freudian interpretation, others (such as lobsters, rotting donkeys and sea urchins) are idiosyncratic and have been interpreted in various ways.
One of his recurrent symbols is the elephant. Inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Oblelisk in Piazza della Minerva, Rome, Dalí’s elephants usually appear with “long, almost invisible legs of desire”, carrying obelisks on their backs. Combined with these delicate extremities, they create a sense of spectral unreality.
Food and eating likewise lie at the centre of Dalí’s thought and work. Bread was a recurrent image in his creations. The egg is another of his recurrent symbols. He also availed himself of images of fauna throughout his work: ants as a symbol of death, corruption and intense sexual desire; the snail as the head; and lobsters as a symbol of decadence and terror.
Dalí’s lifelong interest in the sciences and mathematics was often reflected in his work. His soft clocks have been interpreted as references to Einstein’s theory of relativity of time and space.
Obverse and reverse info
The Royal Mint issues a series of collector coins in homage to Salvador Dalí.
Obverse
On the obverse of this piece, with a meter of 8 reales, a portrait of Salvador Dalí is reproduced, the work of the photographer Melitó Casals; on his right, at the top, Dalí's signature.
In the background there is an allegory to the work of Salvador Dalí called "The disintegration of the persistence of memory". Surrounding the motifs and legends is a graph composed of an ant path.
Reverse
On the reverse is a detail of the painting "Galatea de las Esferas", a work by Salvador Dalí that is preserved in the Dalí Theatre-Museum, in Figueres.
The work shows a bust of Gala composed of a matrix of spheres apparently suspended in space. Surrounding the motifs and legends is a graph composed of an ant path.
Read more on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD
Currency Information
Metric
8 Reales
Year Issue
2021
Colour
Yes
Quality
Proof
Diameter (mm)
40
Face Value (Euro)
10
Purity (‰)
925
Metal
Silver
Weight (g)
27
Roll (unds.)
6.000
Get this coin.
Rate this coin.
By rating this coin, you will participate in our “Coin of the Day” competition. Read more here.
Come back tomorrow to rate another coin, and earn more chances to win the weekly prize!