ART OF SPAIN
Art of Spain - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Art of Spain | |||||
| By Carol West, Photos by Robert Muir, Issue 30 - Autumn 2007 | |||||
| (Cadaques, Spain) | |||||
| FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DALI IN CADAQUES, CAN BE A SURREAL EXPERIENCE IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE. | |||||
| “Dali said that he could only afford to go to the church of Santa Maria in Cadaques once or twice a year as everyone would be watching to see how many pesos he put into the basket,” said Francisco Romans, who as a young boy lived in the house of Salvador Dali and his wife, Gala, in Port Lligat, where his mother was the secretary and his aunt cooked. Each Summer from 1930 until 1982, Gala and Dali would come to Port Lligat near Cadaques, their only permanent home in northern Spain, to paint his flights of fantasy and entertain at their extraordinary house that grew organically, surrealistically, as they acquired neighbouring fishermen’s cottages. “When he came, we thought he was an extra-terrestrial, a magic king, bringing his nickel and glass furniture from Paris, and being visited by many famous people,” said Romans, his eyes twinkling at the recollection. Always a man with a sharp commercial sense, Dali would be gratified by the number of people who now visit his eccentric home facing the sea, nestled against the barren Catalan landscape that was his inspirational touchstone. For me, the impetus to see where he created his mind-altering paintings began with a visit to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, when the exhibition ‘Surrealism, Revolution by Night’ came to town. Viewing his desolate yet light-filled landscapes, then reading of his Summers in Port Lligat spent, as he would later claim, in ‘prisons of my own making’, had long made it an intriguing destination on my ‘must visit one day’ list. Now, driving into Cadaques (pronounced Cad-a-kez) sixteen years later, it’s evident that while it was always at Dali’s core, the feeling remains mutual. A mecca for artists, bohemians and intellectuals for forty years including Magritte, Breton, Federico Lorca and cinema director Luis Brunel, his presence pervades shops, museums and the cavern- like restaurants he used to frequent. Busy, noisy, vibrant and full of life yet isolated on the Cap de Creus headland, Cadaques’ characteristic maritime coastline of whitewashed houses curving along a narrow waterfront emits a certain other-worldliness. Just 45 minutes away, the provincial agricultural town of Figueres where Dali was born in 1904 marks both the start and finish of his Earthly journey. Dali’s crypt is marked with a geodesic dome, a huge bubble that floats above the town’s narrow streets over the stage of the Teatro Museo Gala-Dali. Here under an unmarked slab of stone, Catalonia’s most famous son lies in the Emporda, an area rich with history, art and traditions. The road to Cadaques serpentines around the Coll de la Perafita that guarantees anonymity that comes with the effort of getting there. Tantalising glimpses of blue Mediterranean glimmer between the craggy folds of flint rock. There’s little rain in this part of Spain, and olive trees retain a tenuous hold on terraced hillsides, their low stone walls giving the spare landscape a bold sculptural effect. As the Pyrenees and Mediterranean embrace each other at this most sheltered bay on the Costa Brava, a sun-bleached town of terracotta roofs and sandy walls emerges with a distinctive blend of Spanish and Moorish architecture. First documented as a port in 1030, its natural harbours attracted early settlers and the Catalan defenses were able to inflict decisive defeats on the French fleet during the 15th century. Raids by the Saracens in the 16th century proved more effective but by the 18th century, vine growing, fishing and free trade with America meant an important increase in shipping. Smuggling went hand-in-hand with this economic revival thanks to the rugged coastline and isolation, but by the 19th century, the port of Cadaques had become a major maritime zone with a customs house and solid trading economy. Now, middle-aged men in Picasso-striped t-shirts and shorts shop for bread and newspapers. Standing waist-deep in shallow coves, grandmothers toss excited grandchildren into the air while couples with matching Mediterranean tans take tiny pooches for their morning constitutional along the harbour’s narrow pathway. Chic Spanish women stop by at Limea Cadaques to stock-up on Dali’s favourite espadrilles in black and cream, and men with tanned torsos manouvre fishing boats through a flotilla of pleasure craft, water slapping rhythmically against their hulls, and head into the Cap de Creus Natural Park where the land tumbles into the inky depths of the Mediterranean. Older residents still address each other with a native ‘salat’ Catalan accent and find shade under generous flowering trees. Visitors claim a line of Vespas gleaming in the hot sun while above, women wearing gold jewellery and dazzling colours close bright blue and faded green wooden shutters, their hinges tarnished verdigris by the gentle sea breezes. Along the seafront, a shop selling bijoux and clothes is where Picasso spent the Summer of 1910 producing some of his most exciting early cubist pieces including The Guitar Player. I ask the shop owner at the intriguingly named ‘Waiting for Richard’, what the name means. “A friend gave me a painting from her exhibition entitled Waiting for Godot. As I was preparing to open the shop, I saw Richard Gere walk past and we put the two together,” she explained. Along the waterfront, the logos of familiar Australian surf brands are painted onto pale blue shutters drawn shut against the midday sun. Designed for donkeys rather than cars, well-trod grey stone pathways climb steeply from the water between vine-clad whitewashed buildings. Inside a stone shell, a craftsman lays a floor of vertical stones in a perfect circle that will join seamlessly with the walls. The church of Santa Maria dominates the skyline over Cadaques Bay, providing panoramic photo opportunities and a chance to view the lavishly baroque gold foil alter piece that at 23m high dominates the tiny church. These days an annual music festival draws painters and musicians into its vibrant web. It’s also a region of gastronomic excellence where natural cooking is the order of the day using the fruits of mountain and sea to create intensely flavoured paella. Local traditions are still celebrated through religious festivals including the evocatively named Dance of Death on the day before Good Friday. While the region is artistically rich in Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque influences, it’s the brilliance of Dali, the universal artist, which pulls the crowds. The Salvador Dali House- Museum in Port Lligat opened in 1997, a steep 15-minute walk from Cadaques. A characteristically surreal place filled with their possessions, objects that were of inspiration rather than of any significant value. In 1936 Dali wrote “it was there at Port Lligat that I learnt to impoverish myself, to limit and file down my thoughts…” aided no doubt by the exquisitely framed breathtaking views of Port Lligat Bay and the fact that only the local fishermen spoke to them. However by 1954, he claimed the house had grown “just like a true biological structure” which seems at odds with his original desire to create a “smaller, intra-uterine space” signified perhaps by the two sculptured white eggs perched on top of his waterfront ‘nest’. Unlike most houses decorated to reflect the social status of the owners, its labyrinthine structure is completely unexpected containing the original memories of its owners, a series of fascinating spaces filled with his eccentricities. His studio, library and rooms where the couple’s personal lives and public personas took shape. Artworks-in-progress remain in his small studio: stuffed animals, an all-white garden complete with pink plastic lips seat, a swimming pool grotto garlanded with fake snakes and garishly painted matador figures encircling a fountain. We’re told that Dali always positioned himself so he was the first to see the sun rise. This fixed point perhaps freed him to make changes surrealistically, both mentally and on canvas. While on the terrace of the adjacent Hotel Balumar watching the sun set over his nearby house, I reflect that while waiting for Dali took a long time, the landscape that both created him and he re-created, makes Cadaques an unforgettable journey. | |||||
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