While in Paris, we booked a walkabout tour with a French pastry chef. We explored chocolatier, caramélier. cupcake and meringue shops throughout the day. Each stop had amazing stories and a rich history to tell. However, when we entered the Poilâne bakery, my ears perked up as this one had a Salvador Dali story. As long as I can remember I’ve loved surrealist art. René Magritte and Dali being my favorites’. I have a few Magrettes prints hanging on the wall of my home. However, very little Dali as my wife is not as appreciative of his style, finding it somewhat grotesque. Now, on to Dali and bread.
In the late 1960s, Salvador Dali frequented the bakery and made friends with Lionel Poilâne, the father of Apolloinia. They discussed the significance of bread in life and in art quite a bit.
The notion of building a bedroom suite out of bread was presented by Dali to the more senior Poilâne. Though it wasn’t for one of his major artistic ambitions, Dali came up with the concept. He believed there were mice in his suite even though he was staying at a five-star hotel. He would have evidence for the management if the bread-based tables and light stands showed symptoms of being consumed. The hotel itself eventually hosted a showing of the installation.
A copy of the dough chandelier that was utilized in the display was made by Lionel Poilâne. It is still on display in the shop on Paris’s Rue du Cherche-Midi.
Every couple of years, the chandelier needs to be rebuilt. Even while bread is often used as a metaphor for life, it is also temporary.
Dali would not have overlooked this paradox!
