Sunday 18 December 2011

hands up if you didn't know salvador dalí was a jeweller

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Or can it only be me who was ignorant of this? I'm sure we're all familiar with Dalí, surrealist, genius, mustachioed socialite, apparently-normal-old-Catalan-man-who-played-dominos-in-his-hometown... but I was pretty much unaware that he also designed jewelry which, apart from being full of humour, bite, and even pulses of pain like much of Dalí's painting and sculpture, is aesthetically stunning.

On Saturday we took a trip to the Dalí museum in Figueres (pictures to come) and afterwards popped into the complementary exhibition of his jewels. Albert and I were blown away. The golden, rubied heart brooch in the top picture was absolutely my favourite, because the ruby core was beating... it actually had a little engine inside making in pulse in and out! Likewise the angel wings were moving. But trickery and surrealism aside, are these pieces not absolutely gorgeous. Santa baby, I'll have a pair of those Mae West lips in my stocking, please.

If you want to know more, I found this article very interesting--and the first picture is a classic!

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

32 comments:

Ragini said...

I, for one, had no idea about this. Fabulous photos as well!

Eri said...

Hi there,

I really enjoyed your blog.
Please visit my fashion blog Pretty Portobello.

Btw, I'm having an amazing GIVEAWAY right now!

See you soon.

April said...

Oh my goodness, thanks for sharing!

Abigayel-Bryce said...

Those are gorgeous, thanks for posting, really!

: )

Annalise said...

Wow. Such amazing pieces. I had seen some of his furniture, but never the jewelry! Thanks for sharing.
XOXO

Anonymous said...

Omg! I had absolutely no idea ... these pieces are so beautiful, loved the one with the skulls they are so mind blowing, thanks for taking me out of the dark about this!

Cess O. <3 The Outfit Diaries

Closet Fashionista said...

WOWZA! Those are gorgeous!!!! I think i had heard that but I didn't think anything of it when I heard it...haha
http://www.closet-fashionista.com/

Kallie, Happy Honey and Lark said...

I knew he was a jeweler but WHOA I want to see the beating heart thing SO BAD!!!!!!!!

Monique said...

I didn't know he was a jeweler. So great you got to check out his work outside of his paintings.

Unknown said...

I didn't know either, the jewellery is amazing x

Unknown said...

Didn't know that...and wow, such gorgeous pieces! I have a bit of an obsession with jewelry, so I love stuff like this...these are all so pretty! I love the heart and the lips! :)

♥ Check out my blog: Principessa Gabriella

Michelle said...

I was clueless. You can definitely see his style in the jewellery though.

Zane said...

wow beautiful pieces

Jul said...

WOW. I had no idea too, but these...man, they're beautiful. Pieces of art (...well, obvious).
Life is a romantic poem

Anonymous said...

Hands in he air :)
These look amazing, must be so much crazier in person with all the movement!

Jazzy E (Hivenn) said...

Um wow. I had no idea, these are amazing. x hivennn

celia said...

I'm not a big fan of Dalí but I really enjoy visiting Figueres and his museum for some reason, the jewel exhibition is really stunning.
Did you visit the toys museum? They have Dalí's teddy bear Don Osito Marquina, who was a penpal of Federico García Lorca, it's such a cute story.

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

@celia: that sounds pretty awesome! No, we barely made it into the jewels before closing... next time I guess!

Catherine said...

Incredible! As an art student, I've always been a fan of Dali's work, but I had no idea he designed jewelry. Stunning! I am partial to the crying eye watch, but they are all incredible.

Dawn said...

Wow ... these pieces are stunning! However, I find them a bit unnerving ... probably because body parts freak me out. Not even kidding; I have a hard time resting my head on my boyfriend's chest because I don't want to hear his heartbeat! Hahaha. At least I know he's not dead. :)

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

@Dawn: I gotta say it, that last bit is a bit crazy! ; ) Nah, to each their own... I'm generally not a fan of lots of body parts myself, but these are just stunning,

And as Dalí says in the article, poets have been writing about ruby lips and pearly teeth for hundreds of years!

Emily, Resplendent Tranquility said...

Nope, didn't know. Thanks for sharing these, Emily. I do believe that stunning is the only appropriate word to describe these pieces. I really can't get over that some of them move! Will we forever be impressed by Dali?

Franca said...

I went to Figueres last summer! i didn't know about the jewellery either before then.

Ashley said...

I didn't know this, but his jewelry is FREAKINNNN AWESOME. Love the eye and the lips SO MUCH. Too bad they are probably a gazillion dollars and will never be in my possession :(

Valerie Enríquez said...

Very cool photos. He was very talented in so many fields! I love what he did in film with Hitchcock as well x

Penny said...

interesting story- I was under the impression everyone knew all there is about dali- but of course I am mistaken! :)
very impressive pieces!

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

@Valerie: That's true, I'd forgotten about his cinema work... was the movie Spellbound? I seem to remember Gregory Peck in that dream sequence...

Winnie said...

Oooh yes I knew about this, I remember my friend writing her dissertation on Dali and his relationship with fashion. He created some awesome pieces.

Jane said...

I didn't know he was a jeweller either! Those pieces are actually amazing, I love them.

Marzipan said...

Hello dear, i discover today your blog, I like it! Love your style and your pictures. I follow you :D

Love

http://preziosa.blogspot.com/

Annebeth said...

I'm reading back through some of your posts I missed and I am in love with this one. Seriously, the dude was even a better jewelry craftsman than he was a painter?? Wow.

The White List said...

Wow! I had no idea!!! Amazing!

the-white-list.blogspot.com