The Madonna of Port Lligat (1950)

The Madonna of Port Lligat marks Dalí’s return to Catholic themes after a period of intense exploration of surrealism and psychoanalysis. These works reflect his concept of “nuclear mysticism,” where spiritual subjects are explored through the lens of atomic theory. Both versions influenced mid-20th-century religious art, combining traditional Christian themes with modern surrealist aesthetics and theoretical physics. Dalí’s blending of faith and scientific inquiry in these paintings impacted religious and surrealist art, expanding the ways in which sacred subjects could be visualized in a modern context.

The Madonna of Port Lligat by Salvador Dalí exists in two main versions, completed in 1949 and 1950, both depicting the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child in Dalí's signature surrealist style.

In the 1949 version, Dalí presents a more intimate composition with smaller, detailed objects symbolizing purity and spiritual transcendence, while the 1950 version is larger and more expansive, with intensified colors and a more elaborate background, which includes elements of classical architecture and additional symbolic objects. The hollowed forms, floating shells, and surrealistically rendered objects emphasize themes of spiritual revelation and mysticism, reflecting Dalí’s engagement with Catholicism and his fascination with atomic theory and nuclear physics, which influenced his vision of matter and space.