Dalí Sky-high Art
Joc14
04/03/2019
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Dalí Sky-high Art
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In the 70s the airline Iberia began a modernization process of its aircraft fleet in order to enhance its intercontinental flights. The model chosen was the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, a device that was a true aeronautical revolution, both for its advanced features and its large capacity, up to almost 300 passengers.The first DC-10 that arrived in Spain was baptized with the name of Costa Brava and landed on March 28, 1973 at the Girona-Costa Brava Airport, inaugurated six years earlier. The authorities of the time proceeded to the solemn baptism of the device. The Cobla Selvatana was in charge of putting music to the act, playing from under one of the wings of the plane, while the Esbart Joaquim Ruyra danced a large sardana, the traditional Catalan dance, around the aircraft.
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Salvador Dalí painted two works to decorate the flagship aircraft of Iberia
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The characteristic that made this plane unique is that Iberia commissioned different artists such as the Aragonese Manuel Viola, or the Catalans Joan Josep Tharrats and Salvador Dalí to make various paintings to decorate the interior of the aircraft. Dalí created two paintings entitled "Winged Siren of the Costra Brava" and "Shepherd from the Empordà", inspired by the founding legend of Empordà, immortalized in the famous poem by Joan Maragall. According to this legend, a shepherd from the mountains and a mermaid fell in love, and in order to enjoy their love, they settled in the Empordà plain.
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This peculiar aircraft was only flying for 6 months because on December 17 of that same year it suffered an accident due to bad weather conditions (thick fog and heavy rain) when landing at Boston-Logan Airport (USA) . Fortunately none of the occupants (14 crew members and 154 passengers) was seriously injured, however the plane was badly damaged and had to be decommissioned.The works of art that it contained could be saved and are currently in the Iberia headquarters.
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