Illusion and Genius by Salvador Dali

This is “Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea” by Salvador Dali.  I photographed it at the Theater-Museum in Figueres, Spain. For those who don’t know, this is actually a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. You cannot see the president’s face though, unless you are at the right distance. It is an artwork of illusion and genius of one of the greatest painters of the World. In my Fine Art America gallery I called it “Imagination”

For this painting, Dali was inspired by a Scientific American article on face perception. He made this portrait as a “block averaging” render of the Lincoln image on the five dollars bill. Simplistically speaking,  the artist broke down the image into a grid of blocks. Further on, he over-imposed his wife nude over the cubist president’s portrait. Curves within squares, creating a perfect illusion… Wow! When you are close by, you see his wife Gala. However, from 20 meters away  (about 65eet), you can see the president’s portrait.

Here are some people in the museum trying to position themselves for the best view. All lined up 🙂
I made a small version of my photo in the smallest size, so you can see what it looks like from faraway

Luckily and surprisingly, there were no restrictions on taking photos. However I’m still not sure about the copyright rules. Therefore, I tried to take this picture like it was part of the museum. My Lincoln portrait shot shows the painting inside of a niche in the wall. I took it  purposely like that. It is not meant to be a reproduction of this artist’s artwork. It is my own artwork – so to say – and it’s as authentic as you can get.

Dali’s Illusion and Genius art prints and gifts

I hope you are as impressed as I am by this Dali masterpiece. I took the photo of it the way it was exposed inside the Figueres museum, and I SOLD a 10.5″ x 14″ framed print of it 🙂 Thank you buyer from Kankakee, IL.!

It can look like this in your living room above the sofa. *The default frame is plain black but hundreds of different frame and mat combinations. Just select your favorite from the drop down menu provided:

But you can also have it as a greeting card, tote bag or a phone case. Many other options are also available for gift ideas:

Actually, I have a friend who only likes squares. – Don’t ask me why… For her and others like her, I have some special gift ideas 🙂 What about a square Throw Pillow or a Tote Bag? Just click on them to see the options:

I think that this image makes a great puzzle too. Here is the 500 pieces version but the 1000 pieces is available too. Just click on it:

Thank you for visiting and I hope you will come back to my GiftSmart website for great coming gift ideas!

This post was made in 2019 and updated with new additions.

Previously posted to: Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Circles, Curves and Arches |  Sunday Stills: All #Lined Up

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Tatiana Travelways