Salvador Dalí

Lore & Background

Born in Figueres in Catalonia, Dalí received his formal education in fine arts in Madrid. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age, he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements. He moved closer to Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its leading exponents. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931. Dalí lived in France throughout the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) before leaving for the United States in 1940 where he achieved commercial success. He returned to Spain in 1948 where he announced his return to the Catholic faith and developed his 'nuclear mysticism' style, based on his interest in classicism, mysticism, and recent scientific developments. Dalí's artistic repertoire included painting, sculpture, film, graphic arts, animation, fashion, and photography, at times in collaboration with other artists. He also wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays, and criticism. Major themes in his work include dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science and his closest personal relationships. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric and ostentatious public behavior often drew more attention than his artwork. His public support for the Francoist regime, his commercial activities and the quality and authenticity of some of his late works have also been controversial. His life and work were an important influence on other Surrealists, pop art, popular culture, and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. There are two major museums devoted to Salvador Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.

Reader's Guide

Dalí’s behavior, both in public and private, was as striking as his art. He cultivated an eccentric and ostentatious persona that frequently attracted more notice than his paintings, to the dismay of admirers and the irritation of critics. His support for the Francoist regime, along with his commercial ventures and questions about the quality and authenticity of some later works, also proved controversial. In his art, Dalí explored themes of dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science, and his most intimate relationships. His technical skill and precise draftsmanship allowed him to render bizarre, dreamlike imagery with remarkable clarity. After returning to Spain in 1948, he announced a return to Catholicism and developed a style he called nuclear mysticism, which fused his interests in classicism, religious mysticism, and contemporary scientific developments. Dalí worked across painting, sculpture, film, graphic arts, animation, fashion, and photography, often collaborating with others, and also wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays, and criticism. His life and work significantly influenced other Surrealists, pop art, popular culture, and later artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. Two major museums are devoted to him: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States.

Did You Know?

• Dalí's older brother, also named Salvador, died nine months before Dalí was born.
• Dalí's mother died of uterine cancer when he was 16.
• Dalí was expelled from the Royal Academy in 1926 shortly before his final exams.
• Dalí met Pablo Picasso in Paris in 1926.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Dali is striving then for a rational approach of his paintings; he is very probably referring to his painting, he made earlier in 1927: 'Little Ashes'" — Salvador Dalí "So, André Breton, if tonight I dream I am screwing you, tomorrow morning I will paint all of our best fucking positions with the greatest wealth of detail." — Salvador Dalí "What is an elegant woman? An elegant woman is a woman who despises you and who has no hair under her arms." — Salvador Dalí "If the secret of my influence has always been that it remained secret, the secret of Gala’s influence has been to remain in turn doubly secret." — Salvador Dalí