Atomic Leda of Dalí. Photography and Mystic Pentagram

Abstract

Art in general and some artworks in particular are related to theories as well known as the art works themselves, helping to explain them. These theories can come from the artists themselves and others can be elaborated by theoreticians, such as art critics and historians, although many cannot be considered as absolute axioms. In the case of Dalí’s Leda Atómica, the literature generated around it is abundant, focusing on the hypothesis of the process of making the painting, where, allegedly, a very sophisticated geometry has been used for its composition with the advice of mathematician Matila Ghyka. These theories have been supported by the painter’s attitude and histrionic personality. Available information modifies, when not clearly contradicts, these common explanations. The use of a  photography to copy it meticulously in the painting and the rhetorical use of the geometric theories of proportion disclosed by Ghyka, superimposing them on the Leda, are fundamental for understanding the artwork.