The artwork “Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second before Awakening” is a symbolic painting by the surrealist artist Salvador Dali, created in 1944. This oil on canvas piece measures 51 by 41 cm and it eloquently encapsulates the surrealism movement’s exploration of the unconscious mind and dream imagery. It is currently held in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, Spain.
In the artwork, we observe a vast landscape seemingly suspended between sleep and wakefulness. Central to the composition lies a figure, reclining on a rocky outcrop, who appears to be in a deep slumber. The sense of calm presented by the tranquil sleep of the figure is juxtaposed with the aggressive action above—the emergence of two tigers, leaping fiercely outward, with their ferocity amplified by their vividly striped pelts and wide-open jaws. These menacing felines appear to be propelled from the mouth of a fish, itself issuing from the nourishing interior of a pomegranate, which explosively splits open in a manner akin to the parting of the subconscious psyche.
Above this dynamic array, an elephant carrying an obelisk on its back treks across a tenuous rope, a visual paradox that defies the principles of weight and balance, further accentuating the dream-like surreal quality of the work. The precise moment captured in this tableau suggests an impending disturbance of the sleeper’s peace, a dynamic tension between the serene repose below and the tumultuous narrative above, encapsulating a surreal and oneiric drama.
