The Gender Metamorphosis of Narcissus. Salvador Dalí: Metamorphosis of Narcissus

• Authors: Kalnická Zdeňka
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This contribution is devoted to an interpretation of the artwork, from a gender point of view, Metamorphosis of Narcissus by Salvador Dalí. Dalí’s painting is compared with the Narcissus stories to be found in antiquity, particularly in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, with his stress on the beauty of a young boy, and the commensurate concepts of seeing and mirroring. The gender associations of narcissism and their changes are well-documented in the history of art (Caravaggio, Edward Burne-Jones) and in different concepts of narcissism (Sigmund Freud, Gaston Bachelard, Lou Andreas-Salomé, Julia Kristeva). The author focuses on the gender aspects of surrealism, keying in especially to the concept of Anima and Animus (Carl Gustav Jung). Dalí’s work is analyzed in terms of associating Narcissus not merely with seeing and mirroring but also with touching and metamorphosis, emphasizing his remarkable skill at transgressing gender divisions in his visionary leap towards androgyny.

Keywords

EN

Narcissus; Ovid; Caravaggio; Edward Burne-Jones; Salvador Dalí; Gaston Bachelard; Sigmund Freud; Carl Gustav Jung; Lou Andreas-Salomé; Julia Kristeva; Remedios Varo; androgyny; art; beauty; bisexuality; gender; metamorphosis; mirror; surrealism

• Publisher: Instytut Filozofii - Uniwersytet Jagielloński
• Journal: Estetyka i Krytyka
• Year: 2016
• Issue: 2(41)
• Pages: 51-76

Dates

published

2016

Contributors

author

Kalnická Zdeňka

• University of Ostrava

Identifiers

ISSN

1643-1243