Metamorphosis Of Narcissus By Salvador Dali

There is no question that art plays a great role in all societies. Understanding why this is, however, can be a bit difficult and cause many to question what value there is in art and why we dedicate so much time, effort, and money into it. In reality, there is a lot that art gives us, such as connections to other cultures as art has no language. Art also brings people together, as art cannot exist without people to appreciate it. However, the most important reason art is valuable to is because it teaches us about the past and human nature differently than anything else can, allowing people to grow and reflect as humans. Art teaches about the past. Past people, places, and events are the foundations of artwork to realist artists. Realism

Many artists, including the infamous Salvador Dali, used surrealism to create art that provides insight into human behavior. For example, Dali’s painting, Metamorphosis of Narcissus, is based on a story from Greek mythology that depicts human tendencies towards narcissism. According to Greek mythology, Narcissus was a beautiful hunter of whom the nymph Echo fell in love with. Narcissus, who was only able to love himself, rejected Echo, leaving her to wither away alone. Later on, while going to drink from a lake, Narcissus caught his own reflection. His reflection only made Narcissus fall more in love with himself. Narcissus knew he would never be able to embrace his one true love, himself, causing him to die of a broken heart. The gods decided to punish Narcissus even further by making him live eternally as a flower. In Dali’s painting, this story is depicted first by a hand breaking through the ground holding an egg with a flower peeking through it. Behind the hand, there is sort of a crouched body of Narcissus, weakly bent over it’s reflection in the water. This painting accompanied with Dali’s poem of the same title, captures all parts of this story: the heartbroken Narcissus and the rebirth of him through the flower. There are countless lessons hidden within this painting and poem. For example, narcissism can be anyone’s downfall if they allow it to be. Basically, the lessons are endless and can be interpreted differently by each individual. This is the real strength and power that surrealism art has concerning human