Head of Giuliano de Medici Michelangelo

"Head of Giuliano di Medici" (based on the statue of Michelangelo) is one of the last paintings by Salvador Dali. The death of his wife Gala in June 1982 was the beginning of the end for the artist. His life without her lost its meaning, and creativity lost its inspiration. In search of new supports, Dali turned to the legacy of the old masters. Before, he often rethought the images of his beloved classics in his work, but in the first two years after the death of his wife, he continually turned to eternity, again and again bringing to life the memories of the works of Velazquez and Michelangelo (1, 2).

The painting "Head of Giuliano di Medici" is not the only work of Dali, inspired by this statue of a Renaissance master. Michelangelo created it for the Medici family chapel in Florence. Giuliano was the brother of Lorenzo de Medici the Magnificent, head of the Florentine Republic, patron of the arts and sciences. His sculpture by Michelangelo Dali also "recalled" in the expressive and frightening painting "Warrior" in 1982.

It is difficult to recognize the hand of a Spanish surrealist in The Head of Giuliano di Medici - rather, this work resembles only a shadow of its former greatness. Half sketch, half oil painting, it seems to disappear imperceptibly, fading before our eyes. In the eyes of the statue, it seems, one can read longing and even some doom.

Dali was never able to cope with the loss of his beloved Gala, and two years after her death, he finally parted with the brush and easel. He barely survived her - the artist died in 1989.

The author: Natalia Azarenko