Narcissus
Métamorphose de Narcisse
1937
Salvador Dalí
Oil on Canvas
Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom
"The metamorphosis of the myth takes place at that precise moment, for the image of Narcissus is suddenly transformed into the image of a hand which rises out of his own reflection. At the tips of its fingers, the hand is holding an egg, a seed, a bulb from which will be born the new Narcissus - the flower. Besides, it can be seen the limestone sculpture of the hand - the fossil hand of the water holding the blown flower." -Metamorphosis of Narcissus published 1937
Narcissus, also as Daffodils or Jonquil, is known as one of the most popular garden plants. The Narcissus is an ancient civilization plant well known for its properties botanically and medicinally. There are about 50 species, most are just yellow, just white and both yellow and white.
Narcissus is the official botanical name of the whole genus; Jonquil is a "species," that is commonly compared name within the Narcissus genus, and the name "daffodil" is the common name which is derived from "affodell," a variant of the word "asphodel" which is a genus of mainly perennial plants.
The exact origin of the Narcissus is unknown, but species are native to southern Europe like Spain, Portugal, and Western France, Italy the Western Mediterranean, specially the Iberian Peninsula, and North Africa such as Morocco. They had been introduced into the Far East before the tenth century most likely to China and Japan by Arab traders who traveled the Silk Road. Then later brought to Britain by the Romans.
The genus Narcissus was well known to the ancients cultures such as the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. But Daffodils were only introduced into gardens around 300BC. The daffodil became increasingly popular in Europe and throughout the East before the 16th century. During the Renaissance there had been at least six species known according to Greek literature, by the 19th century Narcissus was finally classified as a species.
The Narcissus plant has influenced several different cultures such as being the national flower of Wales prized as an ornamental flower and in Iranian symbolizing the new year or Newroz. In Chinese culture, the daffodil is used as an ornamental plant. Blooming in the spring, they have become associated with the Chinese New Year. The daffodil is also a symbol of a variety of cancer charities in many countries. In the West, they are perceived as a symbol of vanity, in the East as a symbol of wealth and good fortune.
In the arts, the daffodil started to make appearances in paintings during the late middle ages depicted in mostly crucifixion panel paintings where the daffodils symbolize not only death but also hope in the resurrection because they are a perennial and bloom every year during Easter. The Narcissus also makes many appearances in literature. In ancient Persian literature, the flower is a symbol of beautiful eyes. In Shakespeare, who was quite a fan of the flower refers to daffodil in two of his plays, The Winter's Tale and The Two Noble Kinsmen. Famous poets also mention the flower, such as Abu Nuwas, Remi, and William Wordsworth in his poem, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud. Even Mohammed, the prophet, refers to having praised the flower.
The Greeks have many myths and legends of the flower. In ancient Greek, the flower was put near tombs as its association to the underworld or its link to intoxication-narcotic. But perhaps the most famous story of the Narcissus is the Greek myth of Narcissus a youth who had fallen in love with his own reflection died and was immortalized by the Gods as a Narcissus flower.
The legend of Narcissus had lead to many visual variations, this one by Dalí was taken with him when he met Sigmund Freud in London around 1938. It was a play on Dalí's fascination with hallucination and delusion.