Salvador Dali's Christmas cards — festive mood from the genius of surrealism

Surprisingly, great artists sometimes condescended to the most banal work. Da Vinci was engaged in the organization of court holidays, and Dali ... drew Christmas cards. The congratulatory illustrations of the great Surrealist were unlike the traditional Christmas images for Catholic Spain. Despite this, Dali's miniatures were very popular in his homeland.

In the period from 1958 to 1976, the pharmaceutical company Hoechst Iberica, whose headquarters were in Barcelona, sent out to its customers on Christmas unusual greeting cards. Their author was the great surrealist artist Salvador Dali. In total, the master created 19 such postcards that did not look quite familiar.

Spain is a Catholic country, and faith plays a big role in the lives of its inhabitants. According to a long-established tradition, the Christmas illustrations should have included the infant Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Magi and other classical images. But Dali was in his repertoire and painted as he saw fit.

Christmas cards from the master of surrealism were dominated by subjects more typical of the United States and Central American countries. The artist played up the theme of fir trees in every possible way, while masterfully giving the trees a Spanish flavor.

For example, in 1960 there was a postcard with a fir tree, the upper branches of which are folded into the figure of Don Quixote. In 1961, the postcard directly refers us to the painting by the Spaniard Velasquez "Meniny", written in 1656. Often different animals appeared on Dali's postcards: fish, butterflies and birds.

The author not only drew a postcard, but also provided it with a short greeting. It usually reflected some key event of the year. For example, a 1962 postcard dedicated to the first space flights was signed like this: "The first Astronautical Christmas."

And the great Spanish artist had a joint project with Playboy magazine, which few people know about.