The artwork, titled “Seated Girl Seen from the Back,” was created by renowned artist Salvador Dali in 1928. It is an oil painting on canvas with dimensions 104 x 74 cm. Although Dali is largely known for his surrealist works, this piece is executed in a realist style and classifies as a portrait. Currently, it is housed at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS) in Madrid, Spain.
The artwork depicts a young girl seated and viewed from behind. The subject is positioned against a desolate landscape that features architectural structures suggesting a quiet, rural village. The background conveys a sense of tranquility and is rendered in a muted color palette, primarily consisting of earthy tones. The girl’s hair is intricately braided, and she wears a loose, flowing white garment that drapes gently over her shoulders, subtly echoing the forms of the buildings in the background.
One can observe Dali’s meticulous attention to the texture and fall of the fabric, as well as the careful rendering of light and shadow. The precision in the artwork reveals Dali’s proficiency with realistic representation during this period of his career, prior to the full emergence of his signature surrealist style. The solitary figure and the empty town contribute to a narrative open to interpretation, inviting the viewer to ponder the story behind the girl’s contemplative pose. Despite being an early work of Dali, the painting embodies certain qualities that forecast the technical skill and psychological depth characteristic of his later surrealist masterpieces.
