Dalí Museum to Display Rare Painting Tied to Spanish Civil War

A painting showing a twisted man tearing itself apart will be on display at The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg this fall. The work, Soft Construction with Boiled Beans, reflects the political tensions in Spain before the Spanish Civil War.

The painting is on loan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and will be on display Oct. 29 before it’s returned to Philadelphia after the exhibition ends.

“When you see it in person, you will see it is a stunning meticulous painting by Dalí. Made in 1936 at the height of his career, it’s definitely something you want to see in person,” said Dr. Hank Hine, executive director of The Dalí Museum.

Dalí painted the work in early 1936, just months before the Spanish Civil War began in July. The war lasted until 1939 and divided Spain between opposing political sides.

Unlike Pablo Picasso, who painted Guernica in 1937 in response to the bombing of a Spanish town during the war, Dalí used his painting to express the internal feeling of attack.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art describes the painting as a symbol of destruction caused by conflict. The figure's twisted body and limbs create an image of a country tearing itself apart.

“The painting is incredibly subtle, but when you look at it, it's grotesque,” Hine said. “A single body disembodied and is attacking itself and tearing itself apart shows this feeling of internal division.”