As a boy, Dali loved dressing up, "Disguise was one of my strongest passions as a child." Dali paid meticulous care to his appearance, from his slicked-back hair to his impeccable moustache.
Dali's relationship with the world of haute couture began in the 1930s and lasted throughout his lifetime. In this sculpture, Dali pays tribute to figures who influenced his art: Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli and model Amanda Lear. Schiaparelli was a regular collaborator; together they devised surrealist creations such as the Shoe Hat (1937) and the provocative Lobster Dress (1937) famously worn by Wallis Simpson, prior to her marriage to the Duke of Windsor.
This remarkable sensual Venus poses in the stance of a supermodel, her head a bouquet of roses. Before her kneels a courtier, a dandy paying homage to his muse. Both figures lean on a staff for support, the staff or crutch a reoccurring Dalinian symbol.
The male child figure recalls Dali's 1934 painting The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table. The two artworks have striking similarities, identical kneeling position, the cane, the period costume; Dali was a great admirer of the Dutch master Johannes Vermeer.
