Hello Kate and thank you for your question.
The painting Metamorphosis of Narcissus was created by Salvador Dali
in 1937.
“Dali used repeated images and the relationship between reality and
illusion to create the Metamorphosis of Narcissus. This image was
based on the myth of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own
reflection and was drowned trying to reach it. In the first image, the
seated bowed figure of Narcissus becomes an ossified hand that rises
out of its own reflection. Between the thumb and index finger, the
hand is holding a cracked egg, from which springs a narcissus flower
and thus the new Narcissus is born.”
Source: The Metamorphosis of Narcissus by Danielle Quilligan and
Amanda Wait
Hartwick College Website
http://users.hartwick.edu/~dejardinf/20/dali3.htm
According to Brian Kohler in his 2001 essay, the egg in the painting
Metamorphosis of Narcissus symbolizes life.
“The egg that he holds in his hand has a narcissuses flower popping
out of it. The egg is clearly a symbol of life, and the flower a
symbol of remembrance. The final meaning to be had is that with the
life left in him at the end there is still that tribute, or memorial,
to his youth.”
Source: Brian Kohler Essay
http://www.elsegundousd.com/arena/work/english/kohleressay.doc
The flower sprouting from the egg is a symbol of hope and beauty
according to this short excerpt:
“Atop this pedestal, rests an egg with a flower sprouting from it.
This display of life emerging from the dead is a symbol of hope and
beauty. To the left of the hand, a very unhealthy malnourished dog
feasts on fresh meat; his salvation is handed to him and he survives.
Behind the dog is a chess board with a young man in the middle of it,
proudly surveying the battlefield as though it were his kingdom. To
his left are people on a road that leads off into the horizon. All
these things symbolize new beginnings out of old life and hope from
death.”
Source: Online Essays
http://www.onlineessays.com/essaysearch/arts/art002.htm
Nigel Davies wrote an interesting description of the painting:
“To the right of Narcissus is the form of a hand holding an egg that
Narcissus has metamorphosed into that adopts exactly the same form and
posture. All limbs in Narcissus’s body becoming fingers in the hand,
and Narcissus’s head transformed into a flower-bearing egg; the crack
in the egg matching Narcissus’s hairline and very subtly echoed in the
trees in the rocks in the upper left-hand and upper-right corners. The
image of this egg is repeated in several other Dali paintings (Enigma
of Desire, Geo-elliptical Child Watching the Birth of the New Man,
Stage Set for Labyrinth). Dali claimed the flower-bearing egg was
inspired by the Catalan saying “he has a bulb in his head” which
refers to someone who has a mental illness or complex. Conspicuously,
the life-bearing hand is deliberately placed outside of the
life-giving water pool: the hand obviously not interested in its own
vanity, but maybe also an ironic play on the traditional
representation of water being associated with new life. Curiously, the
narcissus flower itself is not a radiant example of the flower, but
instead a shabby shadow of one upstaged by the erect stem breaking
through the egg.”
Source: Nigel Davies
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/4081/Dali.html
Additional information that may interest you:
Salvador Dali Biography
http://www.duke.edu/web/lit132/dalibio.html
Metamorphosis of Narcissus
http://www.oceansonline.com/images/metamorphosisofnarcissus.dali.jpg
Search Terms:
Metamorphosis of Narcissus
"Metamorphosis of Narcissus" +egg
Metamorphosis of Narcissus egg symbolism
I hope you find this helpful.
Best Regards,
Bobbie7-ga |
