Best Dalí Art in Barcelona

Although Dalí was born in Figueres, more than 140 kilometers northeast of Barcelona, in the latter city you can find different museums where it is possible to appreciate the artist's work. In fact, one of the best things to see and do in Barcelona is undoubtedly to go to the art museums to appreciate the works of famous artists such as Dalí.

Among the most famous works of Dalí that you can enjoy in the city of Barcelona are paintings such as the Bread Basket or the Face of War, and even some more daring and criticized as The Great Masturbator. I summarize some of the ones you can find in the city and in which museums to go to see them.

This is a very special work, since Salvador Dalí painted it when he was only 16 years old. The Portrait of my father is a relevant work for the artistic history of both the author (for having made it at such a young age) and the surrealist movement.

Robert Hughes, art critic, detailed about the work that he saw it as "a strangely mature image for someone so young" and also went so far as to say that it was an early proof that Dalí was looking at the world with slightly distorted eyes.

Details of interest

• Location: National Art Museum of Catalonia
• Visiting hours: Tuesday to Saturday between 10:00 and 20:00. Sundays from 10:00 to 15:00.
• Price: from 14 €.
• If you want to know more visit... The best museums in Barcelona

This is a surrealist work showing Picasso in a style characteristic of Dalí. The artist painted him with an elongated head and a somewhat distorted appearance. But beyond its appearance, the painting has brought an even deeper debate that has to do with the alleged rivalry between the two Spanish artists.

It is still the subject of debate today because of the image it suggests of the artist, which some consider a tribute, while other experts see it as a provocation from the Catalan to the Malaga-born artist. To see this work I recommend buying tickets and a guided tour of the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, where the painting is exhibited.

Interesting details

• Visiting hours: between 10:00 and 19:00 from Tuesday to Sunday.
• Price: from 35€ (with tour included).

The Bread Basket is one of Dalí's most sublime works, because besides evoking simplicity, it highlights an important part of the elements that the artist used to use in his works. The Basket of Bread has a really touching story behind it, or at least that's how the author himself told it during the first exhibition of the canvas in New York in 1945.

Dalí described the work behind his work saying that it took him two consecutive months to elaborate it, working at a rate of four hours every day to finish it with the greatest amount of details. He also explained that during this period the most surprising and sensational episodes of contemporary history took place, which made him attach even more importance to his work.

Details of interest

• Location: Dalí Museum in Figueras
• Visiting hours: depending on the season of the year. It is usually open between 10:30 and 17:15; or from 9:00 to 19:15.
• Price: between 6 and 25 euros.
• To learn more visit... Excursions to the Dali Museum from Barcelona

It was created by the author in 1952 and inside the painting you will see a portrait of the author's wife, Gala. Along with the portrait of the woman, there is a series of floating objects among which are spheres, polyhedra and a truncated rhomboidal dodecahedron.

Among the most interesting features of the work is its name, which is inspired by a character in a novel by Cervantes called La Galatea. The painting is located within the surrealist movement that marked the cultural sphere of the early twentieth century, thanks to the widespread work of Dalí. According to experts, in The Galatea of the Spheres the Catalan artist tries to convey the concept of divine geometry, which is represented by the floating forms around the portrait of his wife.

Interesting details

• Location: Dalí Museum in Figueras
• Visiting hours: depending on the season of the year. It is usually open between 10:30 and 17:15; or from 9:00 to 19:15.
• Price: between 6 and 25 euros.

The Portrait of Joan Maria Torras is one of the oldest paintings by Salvador Dalí, who created it around 1921, when he was only 17 years old. It is done in a cubist style, on which he was influenced by his artistic mentor, Ramon Pichot. The painting basically consists of showing Joan Maria Torras through Dalí's eyes. The person in the painting was a friend and fellow student of the author at the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid.

Experts in this type of art explain that in this work you can already see the influence that artists such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque had on Dalí's work. And they also explain that it is possible to see in this work, how the creative process of surrealism that characterized Dalí during the rest of his career begins.

Details of interest

• Location: National Art Museum of Catalonia
• Visiting hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00. Sundays from 10:00 to 15:00.
• Price: from 14€.

The sculpture "Woman Aflame" or "La Mujer en Llamas", designed by Dalí around 1980, will catch your attention because it is made of bronze and offers the viewer a surrealistic vision.

It has been exhibited other times in other important places around the world, however, right now it is exhibited at the MoCo Museum in Barcelona, so I recommend you to buy your ticket to see this work. Probably, this sculpture finds its inspiration in a pictorial work by the same artist called "The persistence of memory".

Interesting details

• Visiting hours: Monday and Friday from 11:00 am to 7:30 pm. Saturdays from 10:00 to 20:00 hours. Sundays and holidays open between 10:00 and 15:00 hours.
• Price: between 6 and 12 euros.

The "Figures Lying in the Sand" was created by the Catalan Salvador Dalí in 1931 in a hyperrealist style. Bright colors can be seen in the work, which contrast with the pronounced shadows and angular and distorted shapes. About its meaning, experts have said that it could represent Dalí's childhood fears and traumas and his fascination with psychology.

It is undoubtedly an important work of Salvador Dalí's creation and the surrealist movement. Although it is not actually in the Catalan capital, you can go to see it on an excursion to Girona from Barcelona.

Details of interest

• Location: Dalí Museum in Figueras
• Visiting hours: depends on the season of the year. It is usually open between 10:30 and 17:15; or from 9:00 to 19:15.
• Price: between 6 and 25 euros.

Among Dalí's truly outstanding works is undoubtedly the Soft Self-Portrait with Fried Bacon, an amusing oil on canvas that was created by the Catalan artist around 1941. It is one of Dalí's most special works because it delves into the exploration of the concept of reality and personal identity.

Art experts agree that what the image conveys is the artist's desire to transcend the limits of the self and merge with the universe, thanks to the appearance of the melted and soft portrait. You will also be able to see in the work the different symbols that characterize Dalí's work in most of his works, which are the soft clockwork and the animal symbolism that is represented by the fried bacon.

Details of interest

• Location: Dalí Museum in Figueras.
• Visiting hours: depends on the season of the year. It is usually open between 10:30 and 17:15; or from 9:00 to 19:15.
• Price: between 6 and 25 euros.
• To know more visit... How to get from Barcelona to Girona

When he was 22 years old and a student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, Salvador Dalí created the work "Girl from Figueres". It is a portrait that shows a young girl with an enigmatic expression, long neck and oval head, which gives it the recurring characteristics in Dalí's work.

The work is an oil on canvas with soft and delicate brushstrokes that help to create subtle textures. This is one of the artist's earliest works that caught the attention of the public and art critics. Experts have described it as a fresh blend of traditional and modernist techniques, as well as being considered Dalí's first approach to surrealist technique.

Details of interest

• Location: Dalí Museum in Figueras
• Visiting hours: Depends on the season of the year. It is usually open between 10:30 and 17:15; or from 9:00 to 19:15.
• Price: between 6 and 25 euros.

The Barcelona Mannequin is a surrealist sculpture dated 1972. You can see it in the shopping center La Roca Village in Barcelona. The sculpture consists of a life-size mannequin in a shrunken position that also contains a round mirror in the place of the heart. One of the most special features of the work is that the mirror reflects the viewers, creating the impression that the mannequin has a human heart.

The work stands out for its fusion of surrealist and realistic elements immersed in the mannequin, as well as making the viewer part of the work. Experts explain that the technique used was that of traditional sculpture. As for the materials, original plaster was used for the fiberglass resin matrix, which the artist then covered with a layer of bronze.

Details of interest

• Location: Roca Village Shopping Center in Barcelona.
• Visiting hours: any time of the day because this shopping center is open almost all day.
• Price: it is free because it is located in a public space.