Decoding Dalí's The Great Masturbator (1929)

Salvador Dalí and The Great Masturbator (1929)

The painting The Great Masturbator (Dalí) is considered one of the artist's first essential Surrealist works. It features a central element—a box-like rock formation—containing many symbols that Dalí frequently repeated throughout his career. This composition reflects the relationship Dalí established with the Surrealist painters among its members.

Style and Technique: Oniric Surrealism

The style employed is known as Oniric Surrealism. Dalí used a mixture of bright colors and precise drawing, rendering objects, landscapes, and figures with almost photographic realism. He sought to establish new relationships between the dream state and hallucination.

• Influences: The artist was initially influenced by styles like Pointillism, Cubism, and Futurism, but quickly evolved into Surrealism.
• Admiration: Dalí openly expressed his admiration for the meticulous detail found in the works of artists like Vermeer and Meissonier, often incorporating allusions to them.

Dalí increasingly deepened his obsession with demonstrating how personal experiences and the unconscious could be transformed into art. In real life, Dalí chose art as a concept where Dalinian images configured a world in which hidden aspects of life come to light.

The Paranoiac-Critical Method

Dalí's “paranoiac visions” are illuminated by arbitrary light. Using his Paranoiac-Critical Method, Dalí developed a key dichotomy in his works:

• A marked contrast between the hard landscapes and architecture.
• The soft and flaccid figures and personages.

Themes and Symbolism

The theme of The Great Masturbator revolves around the box shape, symbolizing obsessions that haunted Dalí before he met Gala. When Gala returned to Paris with him from Lloca, this painting, with its strong sexual content, was noted for its surprising detail and accurate, careful drawing.

The central figure is a self-portrait, featuring a very large nose, which incorporates various sexual symbols. Dalí collected symbols, images, and content that expressed the obsessions dominating his character.

Sexual Obsession and Fear

The painting is full of sexual and phallic symbols. The artist pours all his sentiments into the work, including the depiction of fellatio and the lion. Dalí was an active supporter of the individual's ability to self-induce delusional imagery. This painting serves as a vehicle for Dalí to express his sexual desires toward women, particularly Gala.

• The Broken Rope: The absence of women (or Gala) is symbolized by the broken rope. The lack of women became a central obsession for the painter.
• The Lobster and Ants: The lobster, whose belly is full of ants, represents the childhood fears and panic Dalí experienced.

Dalí was interested in Gala, but during a walk on the beach (amidst shells and stones), the only thing he could do was threaten to laugh like a fool.