Dali Atomicus Redux, 1948

Colorized by Jordan J. Lloyd, based on an original silver gelatin print by Philippe Halsman

Taken c.1948, United States (Library of Congress)

Celebrated portrait photographer Philippe Halsman requested Dalí 'jump' to make 'the mask fall[s] so that the real person appears.' The duo, aided by three cats and several assistants including Halsman's wife and two children, shot 26 failed attempts before deeming the photograph a success. The final photograph, retouched by Dalí himself, features another artwork, painted by Dalí himself directly on the photograph to fill the empty frame. The props are also carefully masked out, to appear to be floating. The large painting to the right, Leda Atomica, now hangs in the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain.

In my rendition of this public domain edition of the photograph, I emulating the creator's intention, removed the props and wires to make the objects float, in addition to matching the exact crop of Halsman's iconic shot. I left the backdrop untouched to the right, as well as leaving the frame empty.

Original caption reads,

"Portrait photograph of Salvador Dali, including objects, cats, and water caught in motion. The photo is similar to Halsman's published photo "Dali Atomicus" before retouching."