Siena Galactica

“Siena Galactica” created by surrealist Charles Billich is the third painting commissioned by Art Evolution President Christopher Talbot. These visually stunning paintings pay homage to some of the most important historical venues chosen by the Dali Universe to house the Dali Sculpture collection.

For a period, the magnificent Siena Palazzo Delle Papesse was the home of Galileo and is now the home of the Dali exhibition. The narrative of Siena Galactica is that of science. From the time that Galileo angered the Catholic Church, by confirming the Copernicus theory that the earth is not the center of the universe through to the invention of the atomic bomb, these champions have irrevocably altered our perception of reality. As with the previous Dali Inspired commissions Talbot curated the direction of the painting and Charles Billich made manifest that vision.

In celestial form the lefthand corner of the painting shows Salvador Dali, Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, Cosimo II de Medici, Copernicus, and pope Urban VIII these figures are uniquely intertwined through the ages by science and the focal point of this painting is the Palazzo Delle Papesse. Dali had an acute understanding of science and subatomic particles; in fact, he created several sculptures that celebrate the theories of Newton. Dali was also an admirer of Galileo and the massive influence of the Medici throughout the renaissance. The Medici family coat of arms is shown proudly in the painting as it is on most of the prominent buildings of Siena. Of the Medici dynasty, Cosimo II de Medici is the one individual best remembered as the patron of Galileo Galilei. Galileo was a childhood tutor to the Grand Duke of Tuscany and was later fervently supported by him.

When Galileo Galilei discovered the 4 moons of Jupiter, he named them after the different Medici family members. Galileo also experimented with gravity by dropping balls of different weights off the leaning tower of Pisa. Fast forward to Newton and the story of the apple falling from the tree, Newton also further developed the telescope and was very active in astronomy and especially physics and mathematics. Salvador Dali was a lifelong student of science, and his signature often includes a crown, which is actually a photo of a drop of milk being photographed at 1 / 10,000 of a second which was shot in 1957. Dali had an acute interest in the atomic age, subatomic particles and astrology and regularly exploded his images. His important sculpture Homage to Newton is of course a salute to the scientist.

The circular nature of the painting allows a flat earth view of Siena, it includes the Palazzo Delle Papesse, many Dali sculptures and shows that time as we know it is a human construct and as men of science, they all knew that in the quantum world anything is possible.

This meaningful collaboration between The Dali Universe, Art Evolution and Charles Billich seeks to celebrate the magnificent City of Siena and perpetuate Dali’s vision of immortality.