Le Colosse de Rhodes
This drawing is a preparatory study for Le Colosse de Rhodes, one of the seven paintings Salvador Dalí created between 1954 and 1955 to illustrate the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, originally conceived for the 1956 documentary Seven Wonders of the World, directed by Lowell Thomas. The scene depicts the legendary Colossus of Rhodes, a monumental statue of the sun god Helios which, at approximately 33 meters in height, was considered the tallest sculpture of the ancient world.
Dalí portrays the Colossus with a majestic classical anatomy: crowned with solar rays, Helios holds a spear and raises a torch-bearing hand, following 19th-century models inspired by Greco-Roman iconography. The figure stands atop a massive pedestal, flanked by tiny human figures that reinforce the monumental scale of the statue. In the background, a coastal cityscape with classical temples is visible, while a ship in the foreground balances the composition—foreshadowing the heightened drama Dalí would emphasize in the final oil painting.
This image showcases Dalí’s ability to combine technical precision with dreamlike power: delicate graphite and red ink lines, along with light descending from an open sky, give the scene a cinematic atmosphere. In the later oil version, Dalí amplifies the effect: the Colossus is shown in a more dramatic foreshortening, the ship becomes smaller, and the solar hero, instead of holding a torch, raises his hand to shield himself from the very sun he embodies—a paradoxical gesture of mythic self-awareness.
Dalí, cinema and scenography: a total artist
This project reveals Dalí’s ongoing fascination with cinema, theatricality, and grand scenography. From his early collaborations with Buñuel on Un Chien Andalou (1929) and L’Âge d’Or (1930), to his later work with Alfred Hitchcock (Spellbound, 1945) and Walt Disney (Destino, 1945–46), Dalí viewed film language as a privileged medium to materialize the unreal. His aesthetic vision influenced later films such as Father of the Bride (1950) or Fantastic Voyage (1966), which inherited his dreamlike and symbolic atmospheres.
Within this context, the Seven Wonders of the World paintings embody his desire to portray Antiquity not as an archaeological reconstruction, but as a visual spectacle. His interpretation of the Colossus of Rhodes is not concerned with historical fidelity but instead offers a reimagining full of drama, fantasy, and spirituality. This poetic freedom may have been the reason why his works were ultimately not included in the final documentary, which adopted a more realistic approach to the past.
An imagined Antiquity: between myth, art, and desire
Dalí does not merely illustrate a lost monument; he revives it through his unique visual universe. This preparatory work thus becomes a key testament to his creative process, from initial sketch to theatrical climax. The blend of classical motifs, theatricality, and fantastical proportions confirms that Dalí did not represent Antiquity—he dreamed it.
