The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used as a Table
| The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Salvador Dalí |
| Year | 1934 |
| Type | Oil on panel |
| Location | Salvador Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida |
The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table (1934) is a painting by Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí. The title refers to the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer and the image of Vermeer viewed from his back is a reference to Vermeer's paintings The Art of Painting and The Little Street.
In this image Vermeer is represented as a dark spindly figure in a kneeling position. The figure’s outstretched leg serves as a table top surface, on which sits a bottle and a small glass. This leg tapers to a baluster-like stub, however there is a shoe nearby.
Painter's hand
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The wrist of the Vermeer figure resting limply on a crutch-like maulstick refers visually to the strangely vaguely painted hand of the artist resting on a maulstick in Vermeer's Art of Painting.[1] Images of anthropomorphic furniture as well as crutch-like objects are common in this period of Dalí’s career.
Dalí painted the piece in oil on panel and it measures 24 x 18 cm. It is currently on display at the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida on loan from the E. and A. Reynolds Morse collection.
References
- ^ Vermeer's characteristic sharpness of detail which he used in the sleeve of the arm, is lacking from the hand, possibly to indicate movement.