The artwork titled “Untitled – The Seven Arts” was created by Salvador Dali in 1944. It aligns with the art movements of Japonism and Surrealism and is classified under the genre of symbolic painting. This piece is part of a series called “The Seven Arts.”
The artwork presents a dreamlike landscape filled with a variety of juxtaposed elements that defy conventional reality, a hallmark of Dali’s surrealistic style. Dominating the composition is a large, phantasmagorical figure to the right, which appears to be a fusion of human features, notably a large face, with abstract forms. The face gazes outwards with an expression that seems to convey a mixture of contemplation and alarm, its mouth slightly agape.
A white horse, symbolizing purity and possibly the arts, emerges dynamically from the figure’s mouth, leaping towards the ethereal tree-like form on the left, which seems both organic and otherworldly. The horse’s form is somewhat distorted, elongating in a manner reminiscent of the fluidity found in Dali’s work, which often stretched and morphed objects and creatures into new, often unsettling shapes.
In the background and midground, there are cloud-like formations that contribute to the atmospheric and enigmatic quality of the scene. Sketched figures can be seen in the lower midground: their diminutive scale and uncertain activity suggest a narrative element, but as with much of Dali’s work, this narrative is cryptic and open to interpretation.
On the left, a classical column topped with a small, intricate object — perhaps a reference to antiquity or the persistence of cultural forms — punctuates the composition. Overall, the artwork encompasses the surreal juxtaposition of the sublime and the grotesque, the classical and the imaginative, encouraging a plethora of interpretations grounded in the symbolic and the unconscious mind.
