Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time
| Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Salvador Dalí |
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Gouache, pastel and collage on cardboard |
| Dimensions | 75 cm × 100 cm (30 in × 39 in) |
| Location | Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam |
Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time (or Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of Contemporary Cinema), also known as the Barcelona Sphinx,
The painting depicts the child star Shirley Temple as a sphinx. Shirley Temple's head, taken from a newspaper photograph, is superimposed on the body of a red lioness with breasts and white claws. On top of the head is a vampire bat. Surrounding the sphinx are a human skull and other bones, suggesting her latest kill. At the bottom of the painting is a trompe-l'œil label that reads: "Shirley!. at last in Technicolor."[2] The painting has been described as a satire on the sexualization of child stars by Hollywood.[3][4]
The painting was first shown at an exhibition held at the
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Dali catalogue (accessed 1 June 2007)
- ^ Salvador Dalí - the first pop star of painting Tate (accessed 1 June 2007)
- , 1 June 2007 (accessed 1 June 2007)
- UCLA(accessed via Internet Archive 11 Feb 2014)
- ^ Cobb, Jane (March 26, 1939). "Living and Leisure". The New York Times.
Not even his most fervent admirers have recommended Dalí for right after breakfast, but visitors begin to show up at 9 A. M.
- ^ Jury, Louise (2012-04-05). "Disney and Dali debut at Tate". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
External links