Currently not on view
Currently not on view
A spoon emerges from a cracked wall in the background, crosses the space of the picture, detours around a rock half-buried in the ground, and presents a tiny gold pocket watch in its hollow bowl. The vast enormity of this landscape intensifies the disturbing effects of the snaking, distended spoon and the pocket watch miniaturized to the limit of visibility. Agnostic Symbol demonstrates how Salvador Dalí used a clear, precise, and legible style while also turning away from ordinary reality, and toward hallucination and irrationality—an approach that aligned him with the Surrealist group in Paris in the early 1930s. Spoons and timepieces recurred in Dalí’s work, but their significance here remains perplexing. The title of this work also eludes interpretation; one might read agnostic in the sense of that which is not knowable.
Currently not on view
Title: | Agnostic Symbol |
Date: | 1932 |
Artist: | Salvador Dalí (Spanish, 1904–1989) |
Medium: | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions: | 21 1/4 x 25 11/16 inches (54 x 65.2 cm) Framed: 24 × 28 3/8 inches (61 × 72.1 cm) |
Classification: | Paintings |
Credit Line: | The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950 |
Accession Number: | 1950-134-40 |
Geography: | Made in Europe Possibly made in France, Europe Possibly made in Spain, Europe |
We are always open to learning more about our collections and updating the website. Does this record contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Contact us here.
Please note that this particular artwork might not be on view when you visit. Don’t worry—we have plenty of exhibitions for you to explore.
Currently not on view