| Swans Reflecting Elephants | |
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| Artist | Salvador Dalí |
| Year | 1937 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Location | Private collection |
| Dimensions | 20.08 in × 30.31 in |
| 51 cm × 77 cm | |
| Famous Paintings by Salvador Dalí | |
| The Persistence of Memory, 1931 | |
| The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, 1952-1954 | |
| The Face of War, 1940 | |
| The Ecumenical Council, 1960 | |
| Landscape Near Figueras, 1910 | |
| Christ of Saint John of the Cross, 1951 | |
| Lobster Telephone, 1936 | |
| Swans Reflecting Elephants, 1937 | |
| Apparatus and Hand, 1927 | |
| The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, 1959 | |
| Morphological Echo, 1934-36 | |
| The First Days of Spring, 1929 |
Swans Reflecting Elephants is an interesting oil on canvas painting by Spanish artist Salvador Dalí. This painting dates back to the year 1937 and depicts a lake which is used as a medium to reflect the images of elephants from the swans which are swimming in the lake. It is a very well thought out painting as the leafless trees by the lake are also reflected, and when coupled up with the swans’ reflections, they really seem like elephants. The landscape contrasts with the stillness of the lake, as Salvador Dalí uses swirl-like images to depict the background cliffs and skies.
Artistic Techniques
Salvador Dalí liked to make use of double images. This was one of his most common techniques. In fact this painting comes from his Paranoiac-critical period where he tried to create visual illusions and hallucinatory forms. The double images in this painting are the swans and the elephants.