Title of Artwork: “Hitler Masturbating”
Artwork by Salvador Dali
Year Created 1973
Summary of Hitler Masturbating
The self-parody implied by the title and subject matter is consistent with the late time of Dali’s life in which the artwork was created.
While most of Dali’s works are oil on canvas, Hitler Masturbating is a watercolour.
The informality of the medium suggests a quicker production time than for most of Dali’s oeuvre. It’s a break from the careful photorealism of Dali’s other works, which tend toward a kind of artificial automatism.
All About Hitler Masturbating by Salvador Dali
The landscape has a more impressionistic feel due to the looser brushwork. As the name of the painting implies, it depicts a scene in which a dictator dressed in full Nazi regalia sits in an armchair with his back to the observer in the midst of a desolate snowscape.
There’s a transformation going on, as his chair becomes a herd of horses with chair-like hooves. A flock of sheep with their hooves mysteriously replaced by gilded furniture legs calls to mind Dali’s 1942 watercolour Sheep.
This metamorphosis from chair to the horse is meant to represent the transition from horseback to plaid that a retiring soldier must make.
One interpretation of the artwork is that Dali was attempting to give Hitler more humanity.
Dali hides his identity by showing him from behind, making him become a faceless character involved in a highly personal yet pervasive activity.
However, given Dali’s sense of humour, it’s more likely that the painting is a scatological joke on Dali’s side.
Hitler’s view during his climactic masturbation is of a bleak wasteland, an emptiness reminiscent of Europe once he has finished destroying it.
Information Citations:
En.wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/.
Use under ‘Fair Use’ copyright and educational. All rights & copyright are still remained to the artist Salvador Dali.
