The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

The Dream

The Dream

1931
(Spanish, 1904–1989)
Framed: 120 x 120 x 7.7 cm (47 1/4 x 47 1/4 x 3 1/16 in.); Unframed: 96 x 96 cm (37 13/16 x 37 13/16 in.)
© Salvador Dali, Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Did You Know?

Dali and other Surrealist artists created images depicting strange juxtapositions that are sometimes referred to as "dreamscapes."

Description

The Dream gives visual form to the strange, often disturbing world of dreams and hallucinations. Ants cluster over the face of the central figure, obscuring the mouth, while the sealed, bulging eyelids suggest the sensory confusion and frustration of a dream. The man at the far left - with a bleeding face and amputated left foot - refers to the classical myth of Oedipus, who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. The column that grows from the man’s back and sprouts into a bust of a bearded man refers to the Freudian father, the punishing superego who suppresses the son’s sexual fantasies. In the distance, two men embrace, one holding a golden key or scepter symbolizing access to the unconscious. Behind them, a naked man reaches into a permeable red form, as if trying to enter it.
  • c. 1930 - c. 1945-1951
    Vicomte Charles [1891-1981] and Vicomtesse Marie-Laure de Noailles [1902-1970], Paris, by exchange to Félix Labisse
    By 1952 - at least 1972
    Félix Labisse [1905-1982], Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
    Before 1999
    Gerrit Lansing [1942-2010] New York
    By 1999 - 2001
    Daniel Filipacchi [b. 1928] Paris/New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art Transfer Mode: Unknown
    2001-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
  • Pierre Colle (Firm). Exposition Salvador Dalí: du 3 au 15 juin 1931. Paris: Pierre Colle, 1931.
    Exposition internationale du surréalisme, and André Breton. The International Surrealist Exhibition: Thursday, June 11th to Saturday, July 4th, 1936, New Burlington Galleries. London: International Surrealist Exhibition, English Committee, 1936.
    Pauwels, Louis. Salvador Dalí Exposition, Knokke Le Zoute-Albert Plage, Casino Communal, 1 juillet-10 septembre 1956. Bruxelles: Éditions de la Connaissance, 1956.
    Der surrealismus 1922-1942. München: Ausstellunseitung Hans der Kunst, 1972.
    Martin-Méry, Gilberte. Bosch, Goya, et le fantastique; catalogue. Bordeaux, 20 mai-31 juillet, 1957. [Bordeaux]: [Imprimeries Delmas], 1957.


    Sylvain Bellenger, email to William Robinson, April 13, 2001, in CMA curatorial file.
    May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. Knockouts: A Pocket Guide. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Reproduced: p. 59' Mentioned: p. 58-59, 118
    "A Selection of Museum Acquisitions." Apollo: The International Magazine for Collectors (December 2001): 56. Reproduced: p. 56
    Cleveland Museum of Art, “Major Salvador Dali Painting Acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art,” April 20, 2001, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Spies, Werner. La révolution surréaliste: exposition présentée au Centre Pompidou, Galerie 1, 6 mars-24 juin 2002. Paris, France: Centre Pompidou, 2002. Reproduced: p. 205
    Spies, Werner. Die surrealistische Revolution. Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2002. Reproduced: p. 209
    Spies, Werner. Der Surrealismus: Kanon einer Bewegung. Köln, Germany: DuMont, 2003. Reproduced: p. 119
    Ades, Dawn. Dalí: The Centenary Retrospective. London, United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson, 2004. Reproduced: p. 152-153
    Robinson, William H., Jordi Falgàs, Carmen Belen Lord, and Josefina Alix Trueba. Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with Yale University Press, 2006. Reproduced: p. 352
    Kolberg, Gerhard. Salvador Dalí: la Gare de Perpignan ; Pop, Op, Yes-yes, Pompier ; [Museum Ludwig, Köln, 18. März bis 25. Juni 2006]. Ostfildern. Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2006. Reproduced: p, 53, fig. 58
    Treasures of the Cleveland Museum of Art. London, United Kingdom: Scala Books, 2012. Reproduced and mentioned: p. 314-315
    Grenier, Catherine, and David Radzinowicz. Salvador Dalí: The Making of an Artist. Paris: Flammarion, 2012. Reproduced: P. 113
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 300
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 23
    Bergez, Daniel, and Kate Deimling. Painting the Dream: From the Biblical Dream to Surrealism. New York; London: Abbeville Press Publishers, 2018. Reproduced: P. 234, no. 177
    Poullain, Christine, Dir. Le rêve. Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais, 2016. Reproduced: p. 21, fig. 3
    Roglán, Mark A. Spanish Art in America. Madrid, Spain : Ediciones El Viso 2016. Reproduced: p. 83
    Bergez, Daniel. Peindre le rêve: des rêves bibliques au surréalisme.
    Paris : Citadelles & Mazenod, 2017. Mentioned: p. 233; reproduced p. 234.
    Descharnes, Robert, and Gilles Néret. Salvador Dali: The Paintings 1904-1989. Köln: Taschen, 2019. Reproduced: P. 165, no. 361
    Dialer, Corinne. Oneirische Oszillation: Zum Neuzeitlichen Bildthema des Künstlertraums. Hildesheim: Olms; [München]: UB, Universitätsbibliothek Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2022. Mentioned: P. 104, abb. 57; Reproduced: P. 244, abb. 57
  • Barcelona & Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí (1868-1939). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 15, 2006-January 7, 2007); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (co-organizer) (March 4-June 3, 2007).
    Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).
    CMA Highlights. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 21-September 11, 2005).
    CMA Highlights. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 21, 2005 - September 11, 2005).
    Dalí. Palazzo Grassi spa, 30124 Venice, Italy (organizer) (September 12, 2004-January 16, 2005); Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA (February 16-May 30, 2005).
    La Révolution surréaliste. Centre national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou, Paris cedex O4, France (organizer) (March 6-June 24, 2002).
  • {{cite web|title=The Dream|url=false|author=Salvador Dalí|year=1931|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2001.34