Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time

The painting "Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time" also known as the "Barcelona Sphinx" is a surrealist masterpiece by Salvador Dalí from 1939. Measuring 75 cm by 100 cm, Dalí used gouache, pastel, and collage on cardboard to create this striking piece. Today, it is housed at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

In this artwork, Dalí juxtaposes Shirley Temple's head on the body of a red lioness, complete with breasts and white claws. Enhancing the surreal quality, a vampire bat perches atop her head. Scattered around the sphinx are a human skull and other bones, suggesting her latest prey. At the bottom, a trompe-l'œil label reads: "Shirley! at last in Technicolor." This painting is widely interpreted as a critique of Hollywood's sexualization of child stars.

"Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time" made its debut at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in 1939. Since then, it has been showcased in various cities, including Barcelona, Charleroi, and London, as part of numerous exhibitions. Notably, it was featured in the "Dalí and Film" exhibition at the Tate Modern in 2007.