See rare images of Salvador Dalí’s home and studio, courtesy of Apartamento and Coco Capitán

A looming egg, a taxidermy collection and a sofa modelled on Mae West’s mouth: Coco Capitán documents the space where Dalí lived and worked.

Date
16 November 2023

Apartamento has published a new book on Salvador Dalí. Casa Dalí unveils exclusive images of the artist’s home in the seaside village of Portlligat, Spain, which has been preserved by Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí (the Dalí Foundation). Seville-born artist Coco Capitán has travelled to the house – originally a fisherman’s hut that Dalí and his partner Gala spent years renovating – to capture its architecture and ephemera.

This was Dalí’s workspace until the last decade of his life. In Portlligat, he created not only his best-known works, but perhaps the most famous work of the surrealist movement, The Persistence of Memory.

According to the Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí site, Dalí defined his house “like a real biological structure”. Many of the windows frame Portlligat bay, a recurring reference for the artist. The photographs also show the enormous egg atop a dovecote, that makes the structure recognisable from a distance – the egg being another hugely important symbol in his work.

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Apartamento / Coco Capitán: Casa Dalí (Copyright © Apartamento, 2023)

In Coco Capitán’s new images, particular attention is paid to the summer light that can be found at the location. Apartamento explains how this light is among the things that drew Dalí to Portlligat, “where he ‘claimed that he was the first Spaniard to see the sun rise’”.

Casa Dalí features an introduction from architect, designer and close friend of Dalí, Oscar Tusquets, who discusses his first visit and dinner at the household in the 60s. A release says: “Through these firsthand accounts, Casa Dalí grants special access to an eccentric space that stands as its own Dalinian creation, both witness and inspiration to the artist’s definitive style.”

GalleryApartamento / Coco Capitán: Casa Dalí (Copyright © Apartamento, 2023)

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Apartamento / Coco Capitán: Casa Dalí (Copyright © Apartamento, 2023)

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About the Author

Liz Gorny

Liz (she/they) joined It’s Nice That as news writer in December 2021. In January 2023, they became associate editor, predominantly working on partnership projects and contributing long-form pieces to It’s Nice That. Contact them about potential partnerships or story leads.

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