The set up from which Salvador Dalí hopes to obtain the painting, a sea urchin is placed on an overturned inkwell glass and in its mouth ("Aristotle's lantern" which has the movements of a human hand) he puts a swan’s feather or here a light dried up flower. The object is allowed to slightly touch a sheet of blackened paper. The movements then made by the sea urchin are traced on the paper. At Salvador Dalí's house, Portlligat, Cadaqués 1957.
At Salvador Dalí’s home in Portlligat, Cadaqués, an experimental apparatus is arranged for creating a painting, 1957. A sea urchin is placed on an overturned inkwell glass; in its mouth—“Aristotle’s lantern”—is a light, dried flower. The flower is positioned to lightly touch a sheet of blackened paper, held on an easel, allowing the sea urchin's movements to be traced. The cluttered table also holds other sea urchins, a magnifying glass, and various artist’s tools, creating a chaotic still life under a strong, directional light.
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Photo Edward Quinn, © edwardquinn.com / © Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí / 2020, ProLitteris, Zurich
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