Radical pictures can have surprisingly traditional roots. The newly opened Dalí: Disruption + Devotion places Salvador Dalí beside the European painters he studied, showing how his provocations depended on a close reading of art history.

Co-organized by The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the exhibition brings paintings, drawings, and prints across nearly five centuries into direct conversation. Works by El Greco, Orazio Gentileschi, and Diego Velázquez share the galleries with Dalí’s transformations of inherited imagery.

The pairings do the interpretive work. Velázquez’s Infanta Maria Theresa appears alongside Dalí’s response to Spanish court painting, while Goya’s etchings meet Dalí’s altered versions. Six thematic sections move through portraiture, still life, religion, fantasy, and time, making the older paintings active participants rather than background references.

The exhibition also extends into a new rotation of the permanent collection, including prints rarely displayed in recent years. A digital installation developed by Ringling College of Art and Design students invites responses to prompts about faith and provocation; those words join a changing gallery projection.

The exhibition runs through April 18, 2027. Standard adult gallery admission costs $32 and includes the special exhibition and permanent collection. The argument is best encountered in person, with the predecessor and the disruption close enough to compare.