Don't forget the Rhinoceros !

Ah Dali, a man of surrealism and genius. A man who has left behind him a vast collection of beauty and ugliness. Personally, I've always been a fan of Salvador Dali and it is artists like him who give Paris some of her artistic and bohemian fame of the 1920s. Although Spanish, Dali found a great inspiration in Paris and lived in Montmartre. It's therefore appropriate that a permanent Dali exhibition can be found in the Place du Tertre behind Sacre Coeur.

When most people think of Dali they think of melting clocks and rhinoceroses (how could you not?!) and although these were also present in this exhibition it was interesting to see many of his original hand sketches for story books he illustrated, which I was previously unaware of. He also had a great interest in literature - greek mythology, Shakespeare and medieval literature to name but a few. Amongst my favourites were his images inspired by Alice in Wonderland from 1969 - the tale of an unknown surrealist world discovered by the eyes of a child was understandably irresistable to his surrealist interests and he used it accordingly. In particular I liked the image of the rabbit hole and the tea party.

His imagery of Romeo and Juliet was also thought-provoking - so often in surrealist art and especially Dali, there are many ways of looking at an image and it is only after gazing at one for a minute or so that you begin to comprehend its many layers, which is how I found this one to be, which is a scene from Romeo and Juliet:
As well as the many sketches, the exhibition contains many of Dali's sculptures (the largest collection in France apparently)and some examples of his furniture designs including the infamous sofa in the shape of Mae West's lips. Mae West was a famous, voluptuous and sexually provocative 1920s actress and therefore naturally somewhat of an obsession of Dali's (always an admirer of the female form).

The actress Mae West

The "Mae West inspired" sofa

The exhibition was certainly worth going to, although it's never going to be free unless you're under 8 years old (it was 6 euros for us, being under 26), and the Montmartre surroundings are as ever pleasant, although not so much now that the Place du Tertre is constantly haunted by throngs of tourists but that seems to be the case all over Paris now that summer is here. We ended the day by proceeding down the steps towards Rue des Abesses and purchasing a baguette from Le Grenier a Pain - home to the best baguette of Paris prize from 2010 and where Sarkozy gets his own personal supply of bread. It was yummy but there are boulangeries in Le Vesinet which make fair rivals! I leave you with this picture, incorporating the image of Dali himself. A bientot xxx