Description
Salvador Dali – The Elephants
| Year of Creation: | 1948 |
| Original size: | |
| Paint style: | Surrealism |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Located: | Dali Museum Spain |
The Elephants – Salvador Dalí
The Elephants is a painting by Salvador Dalí from 1948: two elephants on impossibly long, thin legs carry obelisks across a desert under a blazing red sky. We paint our hand-painted study of The Elephants to order on canvas, in oil or acrylic, in 8 sizes from 50 × 40 cm to 160 × 130 cm or in a custom size. Before The Elephants is dispatched, we send you a photo of the finished painting.
What does The Elephants show?
In The Elephants two elephants walk towards each other on legs as thin as stilts, each carrying a stone obelisk on its back, while far below on the flat desert stand two tiny human figures and a small building. The sky turns from deep red at the top to orange and yellow at the horizon. Dalí set the weight of an obelisk on legs that look ready to snap at any moment, so The Elephants shows strength and fragility at once – a dream of power that could collapse at any second.
How is our hand-painted study of The Elephants made?
Our painters paint the study of The Elephants by hand, with brushstrokes of different thickness, separately for every order. We paint in oil or acrylic, depending on the subject and the size, so the surface of The Elephants has a real paint texture that a print does not have. The first photograph shows our finished study of The Elephants in a silver-gold frame on the easel, the second and third photographs show it at an angle with the frame profile, and the fourth photograph shows one of the elephants up close, where the canvas weave shows under the hand-applied paint. When The Elephants is finished, we photograph it and send you the photo for approval.
Which size of The Elephants suits your room?
For the wall above a sofa or a sideboard choose The Elephants in 100 × 80 cm, and for a bedroom, hallway or work corner 50 × 40 cm. The Elephants is available in 50 × 40 cm, 60 × 50 cm, 70 × 50 cm, 70 × 60 cm, 80 × 65 cm, 100 × 80 cm, 120 × 100 cm and 160 × 130 cm. A simple rule for The Elephants: it should be about two thirds as wide as the furniture below it, with its centre about 150 cm from the floor.
How does The Elephants arrive, and when?
We ship The Elephants rolled in a sturdy tube, stretched on 2.5 cm deep wooden stretcher bars, or framed – you choose when you order. Stretching and framing of The Elephants are done in our workshop in Slovenia. When a size of The Elephants is in stock, it reaches you within 6 working days; a study of The Elephants painted to order reaches you in 15 to 45 days.
Frequently asked questions about The Elephants
Is The Elephants a print?
No. Every brushstroke of The Elephants is painted by hand on canvas, so the paint visibly stands up from the surface.
Can I order The Elephants in a size that is not listed?
Yes. We also paint The Elephants in a custom size; enter the width and height you want when you order The Elephants.
What do the long legs in The Elephants mean?
The long, thin legs in The Elephants put a heavy load on a fragile base; Dalí used them to show weightlessness and the instability of power, and the obelisk on the back recalls Bernini’s elephant carrying an obelisk in Rome.
Is The Elephants a good gift?
The Elephants is a gift for a lover of Dalí, Surrealism or bold red interiors. If you are unsure which size of The Elephants to choose, give a gift voucher.
