Still Life: Sandia (1924)

Still Life: Sandia reflects Dalí’s brief foray into Cubism, the art movement founded by Picasso and Braque in 1907. Cubist artists sought to define the permanent properties of objects, not the transient play of light on an object celebrated by the Impressionists.  Sandia shows the influence of Juan Gris, the Spanish Cubist painter.  Dali used only white, black, sienna, and olive green in this cubist work, a reaction against his previous colorist and impressionist periods.  According to Morse, the importance of this work is increased by a phenomenon he terms "Dalinian Continuity," meaning that throughout Dali's career, images are repeated but their interpretation changes.  For example, the compotier (fruit dish) in this work can be found again in later works like Nature Morte Vivante (1956), suggesting a coherent unity throughout Dali's career.