The theme of the Birdman comes from antiquity. In ancient Egypt he appeared as Horus, a God with a man's body and the head of a falcon; Horus being the Egyptian God of the sky. In this sculpture, Dali combines two incongruous parts, substituting the head of a human figure with the head of a heron, sculpting a half-human, half-bird-like figure. Curves, drapes, and hair emphasize the sculpture's fluidity and sophistication.
For the body of the sculpture, Dali took inspiration from the statue of Antinous (1543) from the Belvedere Gardens in Rome, now part of the Vatican collections. Antinous was a young Bithynian Greek, a favorite of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Dali takes inspiration both from the figures posture, and from the position of the drape on the left arm.
In this sculpture, Dali wishes to illustrate his vision of metamorphosis and his obsession with birds and their anatomy.
