The Skull Of Zurbaran By Salvador Dali

The Skull of Zurbaran’s Shroud of Mystery: A Visual Analysis of a Salvador Dali Painting It is often said that paintings have various meanings for different people; this is certainly true of Salvador Dali’s 1956 painting titled Skull of Zurbaran. The painter’s intentions, thoughts, or messages can be found as individual aspects of the painting or the painting as a whole. Unless the painter creates a document that describes and discusses his work, these aspects will incessantly be debated. The Skull of Zurbaran is a complex representation of Salvador Dali’s views of Catholicism, but more specifically the conflict within Dali concerning the continuum of faith, life, and death. Dali provided no commentary on the work with respect to either

The term “emptiness” comes from the Latin adjective vanus and from the Vulgate 1:2. The term “vanity” comes from the King James Version of the Bible in Ecclesiastes 12:8: “Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.” This type of painting usually creates a morbid mood and uses the Christian ideology that earthly goods are of no worth to people of faith. An artist that specialized in vanitas was a Spaniard named Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664). Many of his still life paintings involved monks and skulls, where he also showed his skill of white draperies and the texture of those cloths. All of these elements can be found in Dali’s painting, and the title of the painting also suggests that Dali received inspiration from Zurbarán’s

No matter how much somebody prays or what the clergy promises, death will still come. The only audience is Dali himself and the painting is a validation of his thoughts. His thoughts suggest that he feared his own death, and he did not fully believed in the Catholic faith. The message, however, can be seen as a guideline for other unsure individuals, or as a critique of the church. The Skull of Zurbaran is a representation of Salvador Dali’s beliefs and the conflict of eternal life, death ,and faith. The many hidden meanings, illusions, and inspirational artistry provide a validation of Dali’s mental state and his thoughts about the Catholic ideology. Although there is no mainstream description of this painting, the painter’s intentions, thoughts, or messages can be analyzed for further understanding of both the painting and the