1929

GMA 3887

'Threatening Weather' was painted during the summer of 1929 while Magritte was staying with Dalí near Cadaqués, in Spain. This painting is a perfect example of Magritte's use of familiar objects in an unexpected manner. The three objects float like clouds over the sea, in a way that suggests the scene is both natural and unnatural. They bear all the hallmarks of a dream image, both unsettling and erotic.

• Material: Oil on canvas
• Size: 54.00 x 73.00 cm (framed: 94.30 x 73.00 x 10.20 cm)
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2004

1951

GML 345

Following the atomic explosion over Hiroshima in 1945, Dalí painted a number of fragmented heads and figures. Some of the shapes that form the head in this painting are solid and phallic shaped - inspired by rhinoceros horns. The upper area of the painting, with the halo and brown clouds resembles photographs of atomic explosions. The female face, with its tender expression and thin halo, is recognisable as the face of a Madonna by Raphael. Dalí was a great admirer of Old Master paintings. The skull section in this work is based upon the inside of the dome of the Pantheon building in Rome.

• Material: Oil on canvas
• Size: 43.20 x 33.10 cm (framed: 67.60 x 57.80 x 8.90 cm)
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © Salvador Dali, Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation, DACS, London 2004

1924

GMA 3589

Miró invented his own pictorial language, which became increasingly abstract over time. Although reduced to basic forms, in this painting we can recognise that the central figure is female. One of her breasts is shown in profile, the other from the front. Two insect-like infants, one male, the other female, are suspended from her breasts. The figures seem to be floating in space. The painting has its origins in a postcard of a Spanish dancer wearing a polka-dot dress. The only remaining trace of this in the painting is the pierced skirt, which refers to the dancer's dress.

• Material: Oil on canvas
• Size: 92.10 x 73.10 cm; (framed: 106.70 x 88.00 x 7.30 cm)
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © Succession Miro, DACS, 2004.