Meaning
What type of painting was Soft Construction with Boiled Beans?
Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War)
This painting expresses the destruction during the Spanish Civil War. The monster in this painting is self-destructive just as a Civil War is. This painting is not meant to depict choosing sides although Dalí had many reasons to choose sides in the Spanish Civil War. His sister was tortured and imprisoned by communist soldiers fighting for the Republic and his good friend from art school was murdered by a fascist firing squad. Dalí also made this painting look very realistic and yet continued to bring in surreal concepts. Although humans do not have the potential to look like the creatures in this painting, it retains a realistic feel, reminding the viewer of the levity of the ideas behind it. Dalí also brought ideas of tradition to this piece with a beautiful Catalonian sky, creating contrast to the idea of revolution. There are many boiled beans in this painting. Dalí is quoted as saying the reason he included boiled beans was "one could not imagine swallowing all that unconscious meat without the presence of some mealy and melancholy vegetable." By this he meant that there were many hardships in the war so the Spanish citizens had to do their best to deal with their problems. He played with themes of love, eating, and the war and how they are all related.