Salvador Dalí’s “Portrait of Gala with Two Lamb Chops Balanced on Her Shoulder” is a surreal painting completed in 1933. The artwork is executed in oil on wood and measures a modest 6.8 cm by 8.8 cm. It epitomizes the Surrealism art movement and is categorized as a portrait. The painting features Dalí’s muse and wife, Gala, and it is housed at the Dalí Theatre and Museum in Figueres, Spain.
The artwork portrays Gala in a profile view, her face expressing a serene and contemplative demeanor. Two lamb chops, defying gravity, rest delicately on her shoulder, adding a peculiar, surreal element typically associated with Dalí’s works. Gala’s figurative representation is both realistic and dreamlike, surrounded by a landscape that showcases an arid environment with a well-defined foreground and architectural elements in the distance. Dalí’s choice of colors reveals a warm palette, suggesting the portrayal not only of Gala’s physical likeness but also her enigmatic presence within a sublime and uncanny landscape.
