Salvador Dalí
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish
surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work. Born in
Figueres Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...
in
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
, Dalí received his formal education in fine arts in Madrid. Influenced by
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
and the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
masters from a young age, he became increasingly attracted to
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
and
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
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 ''The Persistence of Memory'' (, ) is a 1931 painting by artist Salvador Dalí and one of the most recognizable works of Surrealism. First shown at the Julien Levy Gallery in 1932, since 1934 the painting has been in the collection of the Museu ...
'', was completed in August 1931. Dalí lived in France throughout the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
(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.Gibson, Ian (1997), ''passim'' His life and work were an important influence on other Surrealists, pop art, popular culture, and contemporary artists such as
Jeff Koons Jeffrey Lynn Koons (; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror- finish s ...
and
Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...
. There are two major museums devoted to Salvador Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in
Figueres Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...
, Spain, and the
Salvador Dalí Museum The Salvador Dalí Museum is an American art museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, dedicated to the works of Salvador Dalí. Designed by Yann Weymouth, the museum is located on the Downtown St. Petersburg Historic District, downtown St. Petersburg ...
in
St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...
, U.S.


Biography


Early life

Salvador Dalí was born on 11 May 1904, at 8:45 am, on the first floor of Carrer Monturiol, 20 in the town of Figueres, in the
Empordà Empordà (; ) is a natural and historical region of Catalonia, Spain, divided since 1936 into two '' comarques'', Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà. The city of Figueres, an important urban and economic center of the Empordà, was designated th ...
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
, close to the French border in Catalonia, Spain. Dalí's older brother, who had also been named Salvador (born 12 October 1901), had died of gastroenteritis nine months earlier, on 1 August 1903. His father, Salvador Luca Rafael Aniceto Dalí Cusí (1872–1950) was a middle-class lawyer and notary,Llongueras, Lluís. (2004) ''Dalí'', Ediciones B – Mexico. . an anti-clerical atheist and Catalan federalist, whose strict disciplinary approach was tempered by his wife, Felipa Domènech Ferrés (1874–1921), who encouraged her son's artistic endeavors.Rojas, Carlos.
Salvador Dalí, Or the Art of Spitting on Your Mother's Portrait
'', Penn State Press (1993). .
In the summer of 1912, the family moved to the top floor of Carrer Monturiol 24 (presently 10).Gibson, Ian (1997) Dalí later attributed his "love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes" to an "Arab lineage", claiming that his ancestors were descendants of the
Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...
.Gibson, Ian (1997) pp. 238–39 Dalí was haunted by the idea of his dead brother throughout his life, mythologizing him in his writings and art. Dalí said of him, " eresembled each other like two drops of water, but we had different reflections."Dalí, Secret Life, p. 2 He "was probably the first version of myself but conceived too much in the absolute". Images of his brother would reappear in his later works, including ''Portrait of My Dead Brother'' (1963). Dalí also had a sister, Ana María, who was three years younger, and whom Dalí painted 12 times between 1923 and 1926. His childhood friends included future
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
footballers Emili Sagi-Barba and
Josep Samitier Josep Samitier Vilalta (; 2 February 1902 – 4 May 1972), also known as José Samitier, was a Spanish football player, manager and scout who played as a midfielder for FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, OGC Nice, the Catalan XI, and Spain. He later ...
. During holidays at the Catalan resort town of
Cadaqués Cadaqués (; ) is a town in the Alt Empordà ''comarca'', in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is on a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus peninsula, near Cap de Creus cape, on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean. It is a two-and-a- ...
, the trio played football together. Dalí attended the Municipal Drawing School at Figueres in 1916 and also discovered modern painting on a summer vacation trip to Cadaqués with the family of Ramon Pichot, a local artist who made regular trips to Paris. The next year, Dalí's father organized an exhibition of his charcoal drawings in their family home. He had his first public exhibition at the Municipal Theatre in Figueres in 1918, a site he would return to decades later. In early 1921 the Pichot family introduced Dalí to
Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
. That same year, Dalí's uncle Anselm Domènech, who owned a bookshop in Barcelona, supplied him with books and magazines on
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
and contemporary art. On 6 February 1921, Dalí's mother died of uterine cancer. Dalí was 16 years old and later said his mother's death "was the greatest blow I had experienced in my life. I worshipped her ... I could not resign myself to the loss of a being on whom I counted to make invisible the unavoidable blemishes of my soul." After the death of Dalí's mother, Dalí's father married her sister. Dalí did not resent this marriage, because he had great love and respect for his aunt.


Madrid, Barcelona and Paris

In 1922, Dalí moved into the
Residencia de Estudiantes ESO Hotel at Cerro Paranal (or Residencia) is the accommodation for Paranal Observatory in Chile since 2002. It is mainly used for the ESO ( European Southern Observatory) scientists and engineers who work there on a roster system. It has been ...
(Students' Residence) in Madrid and studied at the
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...
(San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts). A lean tall, Dalí already drew attention as an eccentric and dandy. He had long hair and sideburns, coat, stockings, and knee-breeches in the style of English aesthetes of the late 19th century. At the Residencia, he became close friends with Pepín Bello,
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
,
Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...
, and others associated with the Madrid avant-garde group Ultra. The friendship with Lorca had a strong element of mutual passion, but Dalí said he rejected the poet's sexual advances.Bosquet, Alain,
Conversations with Dalí
'', 1969. pp. 19–20. (PDF)
Dalí's friendship with Lorca was to remain one of his most emotionally intense relationships until the poet's death at the hands of
Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
forces in 1936 at the beginning of the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. Also in 1922, he began what would become a lifelong relationship with the
Prado Museum The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on ...
, which he felt was, 'incontestably the best museum of old paintings in the world.' Each Sunday morning, Dalí went to the Prado to study the works of the great masters. 'This was the start of a monk-like period for me, devoted entirely to solitary work: visits to the Prado, where, pencil in hand, I analyzed all of the great masterpieces, studio work, models, research.' Those paintings by Dalí in which he experimented with Cubism earned him the most attention from his fellow students, since there were no Cubist artists in Madrid at the time. '' Cabaret Scene'' (1922) is a typical example of such work. Through his association with members of the Ultra group, Dalí became more acquainted with avant-garde movements, including
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
and
Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
. One of his earliest works to show a strong Futurist and Cubist influence was the watercolor ''Night-Walking Dreams'' (1922). At this time, Dalí also read Freud and Lautréamont who were to have a profound influence on his work. In May 1925, Dalí exhibited eleven works in a group exhibition held by the newly formed ''Sociedad Ibérica de Artistas'' in Madrid. Seven of the works were in his Cubist mode and four in a more realist style. Several leading critics praised his work. Dalí held his first solo exhibition at
Galeries Dalmau Galeries Dalmau was an art gallery in Barcelona, Spain, from 1906 to 1930 (also known as Sala Dalmau, Les Galeries Dalmau, Galería Dalmau, and Galeries J. Dalmau). The gallery was founded and managed by the Symbolist painter and restorer . The ...
in Barcelona, from 14 to 27 November 1925.Fèlix Fanés, ''Salvador Dalí: The Construction of the Image, 1925–1930''
, Yale University Press, 2007,
This exhibition, before his exposure to Surrealism, included twenty-two works and was a critical and commercial success. In April 1926, Dalí made his first trip to Paris, where he met
Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
, whom he revered. Picasso had already heard favorable reports about Dalí from
Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...
, a fellow Catalan who later introduced him to many Surrealist friends. As he developed his own style over the next few years, Dalí made some works strongly influenced by Picasso and Miró. Dalí was also influenced by the work of
Yves Tanguy Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy (January 5, 1900 - January 15, 1955), known as just Yves Tanguy (; ), was a French Surrealist painter. Biography Tanguy was the son of a retired navy captain, and was born January 5, 1900, at the Ministry of Naval Aff ...
, and he later allegedly told Tanguy's niece, "I pinched everything from your uncle Yves." Dalí left the Royal Academy in 1926, shortly before his final exams. His mastery of painting skills at that time was evidenced by his realistic '' The Basket of Bread'', painted in 1926. Later that year he exhibited again at Galeries Dalmau, from 31 December 1926 to 14 January 1927, with the support of the art critic .Elisenda Andrés Pàmies, ''Les Galeries Dalmau, un project de modernist a la Ciutat de Barcelona''
, 2012–13, Facultat d'Humanitats, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
The show included twenty-three paintings and seven drawings, with the "Cubist" works displayed in a separate section from the "objective" works. The critical response was generally positive with ''Composition with Three Figures (Neo-Cubist Academy)'' singled out for particular attention. From 1927, Dalí's work became increasingly influenced by Surrealism. Two of these works, ''Honey is Sweeter than Blood'' (1927) and ''Gadget and Hand'' (1927), were shown at the annual Autumn Salon (Saló de tardor) in Barcelona in October 1927. Dalí described the earlier of these works, ''Honey is Sweeter than Blood'', as "equidistant between Cubism and Surrealism". The works featured many elements that were to become characteristic of his Surrealist period including dreamlike images, precise draftsmanship, idiosyncratic iconography (such as rotting donkeys and dismembered bodies), and lighting and landscapes strongly evocative of his native Catalonia. The works provoked bemusement among the public and debate among critics about whether Dalí had become a Surrealist. Influenced by his reading of Freud, Dalí increasingly introduced suggestive sexual imagery and symbolism into his work. He submitted ''Dialogue on the Beach (Unsatisfied Desires)'' (1928) to the Barcelona Autumn Salon for 1928; however, the work was rejected because "it was not fit to be exhibited in any gallery habitually visited by the numerous public little prepared for certain surprises." The resulting scandal was widely covered in the Barcelona press and prompted a popular Madrid illustrated weekly to publish an interview with Dalí. Some trends in Dalí's work that would continue throughout his life were already evident in the 1920s. Dalí was influenced by many styles of art, ranging from the most academically classic, to the most cutting-edge
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
. His classical influences included
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
,
Bronzino Agnolo di Cosimo (; 17 November 150323 November 1572), usually known as Bronzino ( ) or Agnolo Bronzino, was an Italians, Italian Mannerism, Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, ''Bronzino'', may refer to his relatively dark skin or r ...
,
Francisco de Zurbarán Francisco de Zurbarán ( , ; baptized 7 November 1598 – 27 August 1664) was a Spanish painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes. Zurbarán gained the nickname "Spanis ...
,
Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...
and
Velázquez Velázquez, also Velazquez, Velásquez or Velasquez (, ), is a surname from Spain. It is a patronymic name, meaning "son of Velasco". References to "Velazquez" without a first name are often to the Spanish painter, Diego Velázquez. Notable peo ...
. Exhibitions of his works attracted much attention and a mixture of praise and puzzled debate from critics who noted an apparent inconsistency in his work by the use of both traditional and modern techniques and motifs between works and within individual works. In the mid-1920s Dalí grew a neatly trimmed mustache. In later decades he cultivated a more flamboyant one in the manner of 17th-century Spanish master painter
Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...
, and this mustache became a well known Dalí icon.


1929 to World War II

In 1929, Dalí collaborated with Surrealist film director
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
on the short film (''An Andalusian Dog''). His main contribution was to help Buñuel write the script for the film. Dalí later claimed to have also played a significant role in the filming of the project, but this is not substantiated by contemporary accounts. In August 1929, Dalí met his lifelong muse and future wife
Gala Gala may refer to: Music * ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush * Gala (singer), Italian singer and songwriter *'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman * GALA Choruses, an association of ...
,Shelley, Landry
"Dalí Wows Crowd in Philadelphia"
. ''Unbound'' (
The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, ...
) Spring 2005. Retrieved on 22 July 2006.
born Elena Ivanovna Diakonova. She was a Russian immigrant ten years his senior, who at that time was married to Surrealist poet
Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...
. In works such as ''
The First Days of Spring ''The First Days of Spring'' is an oil and collage on panel painting by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí, created in 1929. Description The setting for this image is an expansive, smooth gray plane. It is elevated on the right and steps dow ...
'', ''
The Great Masturbator ''The Great Masturbator'' (1929) is a painting executed by Salvador Dalí during the Surrealism, surrealist epoch. It is currently displayed at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid. Description The centre of the painting has a dis ...
'' and ''
The Lugubrious Game ''The Lugubrious Game'' (or ''The Mournful Game'') is a part oil painting and part collage-on-cardboard work created by Salvador Dalí in 1929. The name of the painting was given by poet Paul Éluard. History In 1929, several Surrealists includi ...
'' Dalí continued his exploration of the themes of sexual anxiety and unconscious desires. Dalí's first Paris exhibition was at the recently opened Goemans Gallery in November 1929 and featured eleven works. In his preface to the catalog,
André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...
described Dalí's new work as "the most hallucinatory that has been produced up to now".Gibson, Ian (1997) p. 237 The exhibition was a commercial success but the critical response was divided. In the same year, Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris. The Surrealists hailed what Dalí was later to call his
paranoiac-critical method The paranoiac-critical method is a surrealist technique developed by Salvador Dalí in the early 1930s. He employed it in the production of paintings and other artworks, especially those that involved optical illusions and other multiple images ...
of accessing the subconscious for greater artistic creativity. Meanwhile, Dalí's relationship with his father was close to rupture. Don Salvador Dalí y Cusi strongly disapproved of his son's romance with Gala and saw his connection to the Surrealists as a bad influence on his morals. The final straw was when Don Salvador read in a Barcelona newspaper that his son had recently exhibited in Paris a drawing of the ''Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ'', with a provocative inscription: "Sometimes, I spit for fun on my mother's portrait". Outraged, Don Salvador demanded that his son recant publicly. Dalí refused, perhaps out of fear of expulsion from the Surrealist group, and was violently thrown out of his paternal home on 28 December 1929. His father told him that he would be disinherited and that he should never set foot in Cadaqués again. The following summer, Dalí and Gala rented a small fisherman's cabin in a nearby bay at Port Lligat. He soon bought the cabin, and over the years enlarged it by buying neighboring ones, gradually building his beloved villa by the sea. Dalí's father would eventually relent and come to accept his son's companion. In 1931, Dalí painted one of his most famous works, ''
The Persistence of Memory ''The Persistence of Memory'' (, ) is a 1931 painting by artist Salvador Dalí and one of the most recognizable works of Surrealism. First shown at the Julien Levy Gallery in 1932, since 1934 the painting has been in the collection of the Museu ...
'', which developed a surrealistic image of soft, melting pocket watches. The general interpretation of the work is that the soft watches are a rejection of the assumption that time is rigid or deterministic. This idea is supported by other images in the work, such as the wide expanding landscape, and other limp watches shown being devoured by ants.Salvador Dalí, (Paris: Éditions surréalistes, 1935), p. 25. Dalí had two important exhibitions at the Pierre Colle Gallery in Paris in June 1931 and May–June 1932. The earlier exhibition included sixteen paintings of which ''The Persistence of Memory'' attracted the most attention. Some of the notable features of the exhibitions were the proliferation of images and references to Dalí's muse Gala and the inclusion of Surrealist Objects such as ''Hypnagogic Clock'' and ''Clock Based on the Decomposition of Bodies''. Dalí's last, and largest, the exhibition at the Pierre Colle Gallery was held in June 1933 and included twenty-two paintings, ten drawings, and two objects. One critic noted Dalí's precise draftsmanship and attention to detail, describing him as a "paranoiac of geometrical temperament". Dalí's first New York exhibition was held at
Julien Levy Julien Levy (1906–1981) was an art dealer and owner of Julien Levy Gallery in New York City, important as a venue for Surrealists, avant-garde artists, and American photographers in the 1930s and 1940s. Biography Levy was born in New York on J ...
's gallery in November–December 1933. The exhibition featured twenty-six works and was a commercial and critical success. The ''New Yorker'' critic praised the precision and lack of sentimentality in the works, calling them "frozen nightmares". Dalí and Gala, having lived together since 1929, were civilly married on 30 January 1934 in Paris. They later remarried in a Church ceremony on 8 August 1958 at Sant Martí Vell. In addition to inspiring many artworks throughout her life, Gala would act as Dalí's business manager, supporting their extravagant lifestyle while adeptly steering clear of insolvency. Gala, who herself engaged in extra-marital affairs, seemed to tolerate Dalí's dalliances with younger muses, secure in her own position as his primary relationship. Dalí continued to paint her as they both aged, producing sympathetic and adoring images of her. The "tense, complex and ambiguous relationship" lasting over 50 years would later become the subject of an opera, ''Jo, Dalí'' (''I, Dalí'') by Catalan composer Xavier Benguerel. Dalí's first visit to the United States in November 1934 attracted widespread press coverage. His second New York exhibition was held at the Julien Levy Gallery in November–December 1934 and was again a commercial and critical success. Dalí delivered three lectures on Surrealism at the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
(MoMA) and other venues during which he told his audience for the first time that " e only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad." The heiress
Caresse Crosby Caresse Crosby (born Mary Phelps Jacob; April 20, 1892 – January 24, 1970) was the recipient of a patent for the first successful modern brassiere, bra, an American patron of the arts, a publisher, and the woman ''Time (magazine), Time'' called ...
, the inventor of the brassiere, organized a farewell fancy dress ball for Dalí on 18 January 1935. Dalí wore a glass case on his chest containing a brassiere and Gala dressed as a woman giving birth through her head. A Paris newspaper later claimed that the Dalís had dressed as the Lindbergh baby and his
kidnapper Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...
, a claim which Dalí denied. While the majority of the Surrealist group had become increasingly associated with leftist politics, Dalí maintained an ambiguous position on the subject of the proper relationship between politics and art. Leading Surrealist
André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...
accused Dalí of defending the "new" and "irrational" in "the
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
phenomenon", but Dalí quickly rejected this claim, saying, "I am Hitlerian neither in fact nor intention". Dalí insisted that Surrealism could exist in an apolitical context and refused to explicitly denounce fascism. Later in 1934, Dalí was subjected to a "trial", in which he narrowly avoided being expelled from the Surrealist group. To this, Dalí retorted, "The difference between the Surrealists and me is that I am a Surrealist." In 1936, Dalí took part in the ''
London International Surrealist Exhibition The International Surrealist Exhibition was held from 11 June to 4 July 1936 at the New Burlington Galleries, near Savile Row in London's Mayfair, England. Organisers The exhibition was organised by committees from England, France, Belgium, Scan ...
''. His lecture, titled , was delivered while wearing a deep-sea diving suit and helmet. He had arrived carrying a billiard cue and leading a pair of Russian wolfhounds and had to have the helmet unscrewed as he gasped for breath. He commented that "I just wanted to show that I was 'plunging deeply into the human mind." Dalí's first solo London exhibition was held at the Alex, Reid, and Lefevre Gallery the same year. The show included twenty-nine paintings and eighteen drawings. The critical response was generally favorable, although the Daily Telegraph critic wrote: "These pictures from the subconscious reveal so skilled a craftsman that the artist's return to full consciousness may be awaited with interest." In December 1936, Dalí participated in the ''Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism'' exhibition at MoMA and a solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. Both exhibitions attracted large attendances and widespread press coverage. The painting ''
Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) ''Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War)'' (1936) is a painting by the Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. Dalí created the piece to represent the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, having painted it only six months ...
'' (1936) attracted particular attention. Dalí later described it as, "a vast human body breaking out into monstrous excrescences of arms and legs tearing at one another in a delirium of auto-strangulation". On 14 December, Dalí, aged 32, was featured on the cover of ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine. From 1933, Dalí was supported by Zodiac, a group of affluent admirers who each contributed to a monthly stipend for the painter in exchange for a painting of their choice. From 1936 Dalí's main patron in London was the wealthy
Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inheri ...
who would support him financially for two years. One of Dalí's most important paintings from the period of James' patronage was '' The Metamorphosis of Narcissus'' (1937). They also collaborated on two of the most enduring icons of the Surrealist movement: the '' Lobster Telephone'' and the '' Mae West Lips Sofa''. Dalí was in London when the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
broke out in July 1936. When he later learned that his friend Lorca had been executed by
Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
forces, Dalí's claimed response was to shout: "Olé!" Dalí was to include frequent references to the poet in his art and writings for the remainder of his life. Nevertheless, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the
Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
for the duration of the conflict.Gibson, Ian (1997) pp. 376–77, and ''passim'' In January 1938, Dalí unveiled '' Rainy Taxi'', a three-dimensional artwork consisting of an automobile and two mannequin occupants being soaked with rain from within the taxi. The piece was first displayed at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris at the '' Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme'', organized by
André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...
and
Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...
. The Exposition was designed by artist
Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...
, who also served as host. In March that year, Dalí met
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
thanks to
Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig ( ; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world. Zweig was raised in V ...
. As Dalí sketched Freud's portrait, Freud whispered, "That boy looks like a fanatic." Dalí was delighted upon hearing later about this comment from his hero. The following day Freud wrote to Zweig, "until now I have been inclined to regard the Surrealists, who have apparently adopted me as their patron saint, as complete fools. ... That young Spaniard, with his candid fanatical eyes and his undeniable technical mastery, has changed my estimate. It would indeed be very interesting to investigate analytically how he came to create that picture .e. ''Metamorphosis of Narcissus''"Rubin, William S. 1968. ''Dada and Surrealist Art.'' Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, New York. 525 pp. In September 1938, Salvador Dalí was invited by Gabrielle Coco Chanel to her house "La Pausa" in Roquebrune on the French Riviera. There he painted numerous paintings he later exhibited at Julien Levy Gallery in New York. This exhibition in March–April 1939 included twenty-one paintings and eleven drawings.
Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
reported that no exhibition in New York had been so popular since Whistler's ''Mother'' was shown in 1934. At the
1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...
, Dalí debuted his ''Dream of Venus'' Surrealist pavilion, located in the Amusements Area of the exposition. It featured bizarre sculptures, statues, mermaids, and live nude models in "costumes" made of fresh seafood, an event photographed by Horst P. Horst, George Platt Lynes, and Murray Korman. Dalí was angered by changes to his designs, railing against mediocrities who thought that "a woman with the tail of a fish is possible; a woman with the head of a fish impossible." Soon after
Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...
's victory in the Spanish Civil War in April 1939, Dalí wrote to Luis Buñuel denouncing socialism and Marxism and praising Catholicism and the Falange. As a result, Buñuel broke off relations with Dalí.Gibson, Ian (1997), p. 395 In the May issue of the Surrealist magazine ''Minotaure'', André Breton announced Dalí's expulsion from the Surrealist group, claiming that Dalí had espoused race war and that the over-refinement of his
paranoiac-critical method The paranoiac-critical method is a surrealist technique developed by Salvador Dalí in the early 1930s. He employed it in the production of paintings and other artworks, especially those that involved optical illusions and other multiple images ...
was a repudiation of Surrealist automatism. This led many Surrealists to break off relations with Dalí. In 1949 Breton coined the derogatory nickname "Avida Dollars" (avid for dollars), an anagram for "Salvador Dalí". This was a derisive reference to the increasing commercialization of Dalí's work, and the perception that Dalí sought self-aggrandizement through fame and fortune.


World War II

The outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in September 1939 saw the Dalís in France. Following the German invasion, they were able to escape because on 20 June 1940 they were issued visas by
Aristides de Sousa Mendes Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches (; July 19, 1885 – April 3, 1954) was a Portuguese diplomat who is recognized in Portugal as a national hero for his actions during World War II. As the Portuguese consul-general in the French ...
, Portuguese consul in Bordeaux, France. They crossed into Portugal and subsequently sailed on the ''Excambion'' from Lisbon to New York in August 1940. Dalí and Gala were to live in the United States for eight years, splitting their time between New York and the
Monterey Peninsula The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, California, Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, California, P ...
, California.Gibson, Ian (1997), pp. 411–12 Dalí spent the winter of 1940–41 at Hampton Manor, the residence of
Caresse Crosby Caresse Crosby (born Mary Phelps Jacob; April 20, 1892 – January 24, 1970) was the recipient of a patent for the first successful modern brassiere, bra, an American patron of the arts, a publisher, and the woman ''Time (magazine), Time'' called ...
, in Caroline County, Virginia, where he worked on various projects including his autobiography and paintings for his upcoming exhibition. Dalí announced the death of the Surrealist movement and the return of classicism in his exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in April–May 1941. The exhibition included nineteen paintings (among them '' Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire'' and '' The Face of War'') and other works''.'' In his catalog essay and media comments, Dalí proclaimed a return to form, control, structure and the
Golden Section In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their summation, sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities and with , is in a golden ratio to if \fr ...
. Sales however were disappointing and the majority of critics did not believe there had been a major change in Dalí's work. On 2 September 1941, he hosted ''A Surrealistic Night in an Enchanted Forest'' in Monterey, a charity event which attracted national attention but raised little money for charity. The Museum of Modern Art held two major, simultaneous retrospectives of DalíSoby, James Thrall. 1941. ''Salvador Dali: Paintings, Drawings, Prints.'' The Museum of Modern Art, New York. 87 pp. and
Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...
Sweeney, James Johnson. 1941. ''Joan Miro.'' The Museum of Modern Art, New York. 87 pp. from November 1941 to February 1942, Dalí being represented by forty-two paintings and sixteen drawings. Dalí's work attracted significant attention of critics and the exhibition later toured eight American cities, enhancing his reputation in America. In October 1942, Dalí's autobiography, '' The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí'' was published simultaneously in New York and London and was reviewed widely by the press. Time magazine's reviewer called it "one of the most irresistible books of the year". George Orwell later wrote a scathing review in the ''Saturday Book''.Orwell, Georg
"Benefit of Clergy: Some Notes on Salvador Dalí"
. theorwellprize.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
A passage in the autobiography in which Dalí claimed that Buñuel was solely responsible for the anti-clericalism in the film L'Age d'Or may have indirectly led to Buñuel resigning his position at MoMA in 1943 under pressure from the State Department. Dalí also published a novel ''Hidden Faces'' in 1944 with less critical and commercial success.Gibson, Ian (1997) pp. 424–30 In the catalog essay for his exhibition at the Knoedler Gallery in New York in 1943, Dalí continued his attack on the Surrealist movement, writing: "Surrealism will at least have served to give experimental proof that total sterility and attempts at automatizations have gone too far and have led to a totalitarian system. ... Today's laziness and the total lack of technique have reached their paroxysm in the psychological signification of the current use of the college nowiki/>collage">collage.html" ;"title="nowiki/>collage">nowiki/>collage.Descharnes, Robert and Nicolas. ''Salvador Dalí''. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1993. p. 35. The critical response to the society portraits in the exhibition, however, was generally negative. In November–December 1945 Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery in New York. The exhibition included eleven oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and illustrations. Works included ''Basket of Bread'', ''Atomic and Uranian Melancholic Ideal'', and ''My Wife Nude Contemplating her own Body Transformed into Steps, the Three Vertebrae of a Column, Sky and Architecture''. The exhibition was notable for works in Dalí's new classicism style and those heralding his "atomic period". During the war years, Dalí was also engaged in projects in various other fields. He executed designs for a number of ballets including ''Labyrinth'' (1942), ''Sentimental Colloquy'', ''Mad Tristan'', and ''The Cafe of Chinitas'' (all 1944).Gibson, Ian (1997), pp. 431–43 In 1945 he created the dream sequence for Alfred Hitchcock's film ''Spellbound''.Gibson, Ian (1997) pp. 434–45 He also produced artwork and designs for products such as perfumes, cosmetics, hosiery and ties.


Postwar in United States (1946–48)

In 1946, Dalí worked with Walt Disney and animator John Hench on an unfinished animated film ''
Destino ''Destino'' is an animated surrealist short film released in 2003 by Walt Disney Animation Studios. ''Destino'' is unique in that its production originally began in 1945 (five years after the release of Fantasia), 58 years before its eventual ...
''.Gibson, Ian (1997) pp. 436–38 Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery from November 1947 to January 1948. The 14 oil paintings and other works in the exhibition reflected Dalí's increasing interest in atomic physics. Notable works included ''Dematerialization Near the Nose of Nero (The Separation of the Atom)'', ''Intra-Atomic Equilibrium of a Swan's Feather'', and a study for '' Leda Atomica''. The proportions of the latter work were worked out in collaboration with a mathematician. In early 1948, Dalí's ''50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship'' was published. The book was a mixture of anecdotes, practical advice on painting, and Dalínian polemics.


Later years in Spain

In 1948, Dalí and Gala moved back into their house in Port Lligat, on the coast near
Cadaqués Cadaqués (; ) is a town in the Alt Empordà ''comarca'', in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is on a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus peninsula, near Cap de Creus cape, on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean. It is a two-and-a- ...
. For the next three decades, they would spend most of their time there, spending winters in Paris and New York. Dalí's decision to live in Spain under Franco and his public support for the regime prompted outrage from many anti-Francoist artists and intellectuals. Pablo Picasso refused to mention Dalí's name or acknowledge his existence for the rest of his life. In 1960, André Breton unsuccessfully fought against the inclusion of Dalí's ''Sistine Madonna'' in the ''Surrealist Intrusion in the Enchanter's Domain'' exhibition organized by Marcel Duchamp in New York.. ''The Old Age of William Tell (A study of Buñuel's ''Tristana'')''. '' MLN'' 116 (2001): 295–314. Breton and other Surrealists issued a tract to coincide with the exhibition denouncing Dalí as "the ex-apologist of Hitler ... and friend of Franco". In December 1949, Dalí's sister Anna Maria published her book ''Salvador Dalí Seen by his Sister''. Dalí was angered by passages that he considered derogatory towards his wife Gala and broke off relations with his family. When Dalí's father died in September 1950, Dalí learned that he had been virtually disinherited in his will. A two-year legal dispute followed over paintings and drawings Dalí had left in his family home, during which Dalí was accused of assaulting a public notary. As Dalí moved further towards embracing
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
he introduced more religious iconography and themes in his painting. In 1949, he painted a study for ''
The Madonna of Port Lligat ''The Madonna of Port Lligat'' is a pair of paintings by Salvador Dalí. The first was created in 1949, measuring 49 x 37.5 centimetres (19.3 x 14.8 in), and is housed in the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ...
'' (first version, 1949) and showed it to
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
during an audience arranged to discuss Dalí 's marriage to Gala. This work was a precursor to the phase Dalí dubbed "Nuclear Mysticism", a fusion of Einsteinian physics, classicism, and Catholic mysticism. In paintings such as ''
The Madonna of Port Lligat ''The Madonna of Port Lligat'' is a pair of paintings by Salvador Dalí. The first was created in 1949, measuring 49 x 37.5 centimetres (19.3 x 14.8 in), and is housed in the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ...
'', '' The Christ of Saint John on the Cross'' and ''
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory ''La Desintegración de la Persistencia de la Memoria'' or ''The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory'' is an oil on canvas painting by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí. It is a 1954 re-creation of the artist's famous 1931 work ''The ...
'', Dalí sought to synthesize Christian iconography with images of material disintegration inspired by nuclear physics. His later Nuclear Mysticism works included '' La Gare de Perpignan'' (1965) and ''
The Hallucinogenic Toreador ''The Hallucinogenic Toreador'' (Spanish: El Torero Alucinógeno) is a 1969–1970 multi-leveled oil painting by Salvador Dalí which employs the canons of his particular interpretation of surrealist thought. It is currently being exhibited at ...
'' (1968–70). Dalí's keen interest in natural science and mathematics was further manifested by the proliferation of images of DNA and
rhinoceros horn A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family Rhinocerotidae; it can also re ...
shapes in works from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral.Elliott H. King in Dawn Ades (ed.), ''Dalí'', Bompiani Arte, Milan, 2004, p. 456. Dalí was also fascinated by the
Tesseract In geometry, a tesseract or 4-cube is a four-dimensional hypercube, analogous to a two-dimensional square and a three-dimensional cube. Just as the perimeter of the square consists of four edges and the surface of the cube consists of six ...
(a four-dimensional cube), using it, for example, in ''
Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) ''Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus)'' is a 1954 oil-on-canvas painting by Salvador Dalí. A nontraditional, surrealism, surrealist Crucifixion in art, portrayal of the Crucifixion, it depicts Christ on a polyhedron net of a tesseract (hypercube). ...
''. Dalí had been extensively using optical illusions such as double images,
anamorphosis Anamorphosis is a distorted projection that requires the viewer to occupy a specific vantage point, use special devices, or both to view a recognizable image. It is used in painting, photography, sculpture and installation, toys, and film speci ...
,
negative space In art and design, negative space or negative volume is the empty space around and between the subject(s) of an image. In graphic design this is known as white space. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, not th ...
,
visual pun A visual pun is a pun involving an image or images (in addition to or instead of language), often based on a rebus. Visual puns in which the image is at odds with the inscription are common in cartoons such as '' Lost Consonants'' or '' The Fa ...
s and ''
trompe-l'œil ; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...
'' since his Surrealist period and this continued in his later work. At some point, Dalí had a glass floor installed in a room near his studio in Port Lligat. He made extensive use of it to study foreshortening, both from above and from below, incorporating dramatic perspectives of figures and objects into his paintings. He also experimented with the bulletist technique
pointillism Pointillism (, ) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism ...
, enlarged
half-tone Halftone is the reprographic technique that simulates continuous-tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size or in spacing, thus generating a gradient-like effect.Campbell, Alastair. ''The Designer's Lexicon''. ©2000 Chronicl ...
dot grids and stereoscopic images. He was among the first artists to employ
holography Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interfe ...
in an artistic manner.The History and Development of Holography
. ''Holophile''. Retrieved on 22 August 2006.
In Dalí's later years, young artists such as
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
proclaimed him an important influence on pop art. In 1960, Dalí began work on his Theatre-Museum in his home town of
Figueres Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...
. It was his largest single project and a main focus of his energy through to 1974, when it opened. He continued to make additions through the mid-1980s. In 1955, Dalí met Nanita Kalaschnikoff, who was to become a close friend, muse, and model. At a French nightclub in 1965 Dalí met
Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 18 June or 18 November 1939 or 1941 or 1946 or 1950) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress and former model. She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s and went on ...
, a fashion model then known as Peki Oslo. Lear became his protégée and one of his muses. According to Lear, she and Dalí were united in a "spiritual marriage" on a deserted mountaintop.Prose, Francine. (2000)
The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists they Inspired
''. Harper Perennial. .
Lear, Amanda. (1986) ''My Life with Dalí''. Beaufort Books. .


Final years and death

In 1968, Dalí bought a castle in Púbol for Gala, and from 1971 she would retreat there for weeks at a time, Dalí having agreed not to visit without her written permission. His fears of abandonment and estrangement from his longtime artistic muse contributed to depression and failing health. In 1980, at age 76, Dalí's health deteriorated sharply and he was treated for depression, drug addiction, and Parkinson-like symptoms, including a severe tremor in his right arm. There were also allegations that Gala had been supplying Dalí with pharmaceuticals from her own prescriptions. Gala died on 10 June 1982, at the age of 87. After her death, Dalí moved from Figueres to the castle in Púbol, where she was entombed. In 1982,
King Juan Carlos King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...
bestowed on Dalí the title of ''Marqués de Dalí de Púbol''Excerpts from the BOE
– Website Heráldica y Genealogía Hispana
Dalí as "Marqués de Dalí de Púbol"
– Boletín Oficial del Estado, the official gazette of the Spanish government
(''Marquess of Dalí of Púbol'') in the nobility of Spain, Púbol being where Dalí then lived. The title was initially hereditary, but at Dalí's request was changed to life-only in 1983. In May 1983, what was said to be Dalí's last painting, '' The Swallow's Tail'', was revealed. The work was heavily influenced by the mathematical
catastrophe theory In mathematics, catastrophe theory is a branch of bifurcation theory in the study of dynamical systems; it is also a particular special case of more general singularity theory in geometry. Bifurcation theory studies and classifies phenomena chara ...
of
René Thom René Frédéric Thom (; 2 September 1923 – 25 October 2002) was a French mathematician, who received the Fields Medal in 1958. He made his reputation as a topologist, moving on to aspects of what would be called singularity theory; he became ...
. However, some critics have questioned how Dalí could have executed a painting with such precision given the severe tremor in his painting arm. From early 1984, Dalí's depression worsened and he refused food, leading to severe undernourishment. Dalí had previously stated his intention to put himself into a state of suspended animation as he had read that some microorganisms could do. In August 1984 a fire broke out in Dalí's bedroom and he was hospitalized with severe burns. Two judicial inquiries found that the fire was caused by an electrical fault and no findings of negligence were made. After his release from hospital Dalí moved to the Torre Galatea, an annex to the Dalí Theatre-Museum. There have been allegations that Dalí was forced by his guardians to sign blank canvases that could later be used in forgeries. It is also alleged that he knowingly sold otherwise-blank lithograph paper which he had signed, possibly producing over 50,000 such sheets from 1965 until his death. As a result, art dealers tend to be wary of late graphic works attributed to Dalí. In July 1986, Dalí had a pacemaker implanted. On his return to his Theatre-Museum he made a brief public appearance, saying: In November 1988, Dalí entered hospital with heart failure. On 5 December 1988, he was visited by King Juan Carlos, who confessed that he had always been a serious devotee of Dalí. Dalí gave the king a drawing, ''Head of Europa'', which would turn out to be Dalí's final drawing. On the morning of 23 January 1989, Dalí died of cardiac arrest at the age of 84. He is buried in the crypt below the stage of his Theatre-Museum in Figueres. The location is across the street from the church of ''Sant Pere'', where he had his baptism, first communion, and funeral, and is only from the house where he was born.


Exhumation

On 26 June 2017, it was announced that a judge in Madrid had ordered the exhumation of Dalí's body in order to obtain samples for a paternity suit. Joan Manuel Sevillano, manager of the ''Fundación Gala Salvador Dalí'' (The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation), denounced the exhumation as inappropriate. The exhumation took place on the evening of 20 July, and his DNA was extracted. On 6 September 2017, the Foundation stated that the tests carried out proved conclusively that Dalí and the claimant were not related. On 18 May 2020, a Spanish court dismissed an appeal from the claimant and ordered her to pay the costs of the exhumation.


Symbolism

From the late 1920s, Dalí progressively introduced many bizarre or incongruous images into his work which invite symbolic interpretation. While some of these images suggest a straightforward sexual or
Freudian Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in t ...
interpretation (Dalí read
Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in t ...
in the 1920s) others (such as
locust Locusts (derived from the Latin ''locusta'', locust or lobster) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they b ...
s, rotting
donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...
s, and
sea urchin Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...
s) are idiosyncratic and have been variously interpreted. Some commentators have cautioned that Dalí's own comments on these images are not always reliable.


Food

Food and eating have a central place in Dalí's thoughts and work. He associated food with beauty and sex and was obsessed with the image of the female
praying mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate ...
eating her mate after copulation. Bread was a recurring image in Dalí's art, from his early work '' The Basket of Bread'' to later public performances such as in 1958 when he gave a lecture in Paris using a 12-meter-long
baguette A baguette (; ) is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust. A baguette has a diameter ...
an illustrative prop. He saw bread as "the elementary basis of continuity" and "sacred subsistence". The egg is another common Dalínian image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love. It appears in ''
The Great Masturbator ''The Great Masturbator'' (1929) is a painting executed by Salvador Dalí during the Surrealism, surrealist epoch. It is currently displayed at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid. Description The centre of the painting has a dis ...
'', '' The Metamorphosis of Narcissus'' and many other works. There are also giant sculptures of eggs in various locations at Dalí's house in Portlligat as well as at the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres. The radial symmetry of the sea urchin intrigued Dalí. He had enjoyed eating them with his father at Cadaqués and, along with other foods, they became a recurring theme in his work. The famous "melting watches" that appear in ''The Persistence of Memory'' suggest
Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
's theory that time is relative and not fixed. Dalí later claimed that the idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to him when he was contemplating
Camembert Camembert ( , , ) is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Camembert, Normandy, in northwest France. It is sometimes compared in look, taste and texture to brie cheese, albe ...
cheese.


Animals

The
rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
and rhinoceros horn shapes began to proliferate in Dalí's work from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a
logarithmic spiral A logarithmic spiral, equiangular spiral, or growth spiral is a self-similarity, self-similar spiral curve that often appears in nature. The first to describe a logarithmic spiral was Albrecht Dürer (1525) who called it an "eternal line" ("ewi ...
. He linked the rhinoceros to themes of chastity and to the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
. However, he also used it as an obvious phallic symbol as in ''
Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity ''Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity'' is an oil painting by Salvador Dalí from 1954. History and description During the 1950s, Dalí painted many of his subjects as composed of rhinoceros horns. Here, the young virgi ...
.''Gibson, Ian (1997) p. 478 Various other animals appear throughout Dalí's work: rotting donkeys and ants have been interpreted as pointing to death, decay, and sexual desire; the
snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...
as connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met him); and locusts as a symbol of waste and fear. The elephant is also a recurring image in his work; for example, '' Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening''. The elephants are inspired by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italians, Italian sculptor and Italian architect, architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prom ...
's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk.


Science

Dalí's life-long interest in science and mathematics was often reflected in his work. His soft watches have been interpreted as references to Einstein's theory of the relativity of time and space. Images of atomic particles appeared in his work soon after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and strands of
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
appeared from the mid-1950s. In 1958 he wrote in his ''Anti-Matter Manifesto'': "In the Surrealist period, I wanted to create the iconography of the interior world and the world of the marvelous, of my father Freud. Today, the exterior world and that of physics have transcended the one of psychology. My father today is Dr. Heisenberg." ''
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory ''La Desintegración de la Persistencia de la Memoria'' or ''The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory'' is an oil on canvas painting by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí. It is a 1954 re-creation of the artist's famous 1931 work ''The ...
'' (1954) harks back to ''The Persistence of Memory'' (1931) and in portraying that painting in fragmentation and disintegration has been interpreted as a reference to Heisenberg's
quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...
.


Endeavors outside painting

Dalí was a versatile artist. Some of his more popular works are sculptures and other objects, and he is also noted for his contributions to theater, fashion, and photography, among other areas.


Sculptures and other objects

From the early 1930s, Dalí was an enthusiastic proponent of the proliferation of three-dimensional Surrealist Objects to subvert perceptions of conventional reality, writing: "museums will fast fill with objects whose uselessness, size and crowding will necessitate the construction, in deserts, of special towers to contain them." His more notable early objects include ''Board of Demented Associations'' (1930–31), ''Retrospective Bust of a Woman'' (1933), ''Venus de Milo with Chest of Drawers'' (1936) and ''Aphrodisiac Dinner Jacket'' (1936). Two of the most popular objects of the Surrealist movement were '' Lobster Telephone'' (1936) and '' Mae West Lips Sofa'' (1937) which were commissioned by art patron
Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inheri ...
.Lobster telephone
. ''National Gallery of Australia''. Retrieved on 4 August 2006.
Lobsters and telephones had strong sexual connotations for Dalí who drew a close analogy between food and sex.Tate Collection , Lobster Telephone by Salvador Dalí
. ''Tate Online''. Retrieved on 4 August 2006.
The telephone was functional, and James purchased four of them from Dalí to replace the phones in his home. The ''Mae West Lips Sofa'' was shaped after the lips of actress Mae West, who was previously the subject of Dalí's watercolor, ''The Face of Mae West which may be used as a Surrealist Apartment (1934–35)''. In December 1936 Dalí sent Harpo Marx a Christmas present of a harp with barbed-wire strings. After World War II Dalí authorized many sculptures derived from his most famous works and images. In his later years other sculptures also appeared, often in large editions, whose authenticity has sometimes been questioned. Between 1941 and 1970, Dalí created an ensemble of 39 pieces of jewelry, many of which are intricate, some containing moving parts. The most famous assemblage, ''The Royal Heart'', is made of gold and is encrusted with 46 rubies, 42 diamonds, and four emeralds, created in such a way that the center "beats" like a heart. Dalí ventured into industrial design in the 1970s with a 500-piece run of ''Suomi'' tableware by Timo Sarpaneva that Dalí decorated for the German Rosenthal porcelain maker's "Studio Linie". In 1969 he designed the
Chupa Chups Chupa Chups () is a Spanish brand of confectionery found in over 150 countries. The brand was founded in 1958 by Enric Bernat, and is currently owned by the Italian- Dutch company Perfetti Van Melle. The name of the brand comes from the Spanish ...
logo. He facilitated the design of the advertising campaign for the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest and created a large on-stage metal sculpture that stood at the
Teatro Real The Teatro Real () is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as "''El Real''" (The Royal One). it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts ...
in Madrid.


Theater and film

In theater, Dalí designed the scenery for
Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...
's 1927 romantic play '' Mariana Pineda''. For '' Bacchanale'' (1939), a ballet based on and set to the music of Richard Wagner's 1845 opera ''Tannhäuser'', Dalí provided both the set design and the libretto. He executed designs for a number of other ballets including ''Labyrinth'' (1942), ''Sentimental Colloquy'', ''Mad Tristan'', ''The Cafe of Chinitas'' (all 1944) and '' The Three-Cornered Hat'' (1949). Dalí became interested in film when he was young, going to the theater most Sundays. By the late 1920s he was fascinated by the potential of film to reveal "the unlimited fantasy born of things themselves" and went on to collaborate with the director Luis Buñuel on two Surrealist films: the 17-minute short '' Un Chien Andalou'' (1929) and the feature film '' L'Age d'Or'' (1930). Dalí and Buñuel agree that they jointly developed the script and imagery of ''Un Chien Andalou'', but there is controversy over the extent of Dalí's contribution to ''L'Age d'Or''. ''Un Chien Andalou'' features a graphic opening scene of a human eyeball being slashed with a razor and develops surreal imagery and irrational discontinuities in time and space to produce a dreamlike quality. ''L'Age d'Or'' is more overtly anti-clerical and anti-establishment, and was banned after right-wing groups staged a riot in the Parisian theater where it was being shown. Summarizing the impact of these two films on the Surrealist film movement, one commentator has stated: "If Un Chien Andalou stands as the supreme record of Surrealism's adventures into the realm of the unconscious, then L'Âge d'Or is perhaps the most trenchant and implacable expression of its revolutionary intent." After he collaborated with Buñuel, Dalí worked on several unrealized film projects including a published script for a film, ''Babaouo'' (1932); a scenario for
Harpo Marx Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Groucho and Chico, Harp ...
called ''Giraffes on Horseback Salad'' (1937); and an abandoned dream sequence for the film ''Moontide'' (1942). In 1945 Dalí created the dream sequence in Hitchcock's '' Spellbound'', but neither Dalí nor the director was satisfied with the result. Dalí also worked with
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
and animator
John Hench John Hench (June 29, 1908 – February 5, 2004) was an American artist, designer and director at The Walt Disney Company. For 65 years, he helped design and develop various Disney attractions and theme parks. Early life Hench was born on June ...
on the short film ''
Destino ''Destino'' is an animated surrealist short film released in 2003 by Walt Disney Animation Studios. ''Destino'' is unique in that its production originally began in 1945 (five years after the release of Fantasia), 58 years before its eventual ...
'' in 1946. After initially being abandoned, the animated film was completed in 2003 by Baker Bloodworth and Walt Disney's nephew
Roy E. Disney Roy Edward Disney Order of St. Gregory the Great, KCSG (January 10, 1930 – December 16, 2009) was an American businessman. He was the longtime senior executive for the Walt Disney Company, which was founded by his uncle, Walt Disney, and his ...
. Between 1954 and 1961 Dalí worked with photographer Robert Descharnes on ''The Prodigious History of the Lacemaker and the Rhinoceros'', but the film was never completed. In the 1960s Dalí worked with some directors on documentary and performance films including with Philippe Halsman on ''Chaos and Creation'' (1960), Jack Bond on ''Dalí in New York'' (1966) and
Jean-Christophe Averty Jean-Christophe Averty (; 6 August 1928 – 4 March 2017) was a French television and radio director, and Satrap of the College of 'Pataphysique. Many of his television productions from the 1960s were early examples of French video art. His stud ...
on ''Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dalí'' (1966). Dalí collaborated with director José-Montes Baquer on the pseudo-documentary film ''Impressions of Upper Mongolia'' (1975), in which Dalí narrates a story about an expedition in search of giant hallucinogenic mushrooms. In the mid-1970s film director
Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean and French Experimental film, avant-garde filmmaker. Known for his films ''El Topo'' (1970), ''The Holy Mountain (1973 film), The Holy Mountain'' (1973) and ''Santa Sangre'' ...
initially cast Dalí in the role of the Padishah Emperor in a production of ''Dune'', based on the novel by Frank Herbert. However, Jodorowsky changed his mind after Dalí publicly supported the execution of alleged ETA terrorists in December 1975. The film was ultimately never made. In 1972 Dalí began to write the scenario for an opera-poem called '' Être Dieu''
''To Be God''
. The Spanish writer
Manuel Vázquez Montalbán Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (14 June 1939–18 October 2003) was a prolific Spanish writer from Barcelona: journalist, novelist, poet, essayist, anthologue, prologist, humorist, critic and political prisoner as well as a gastronome and an ...
wrote the libretto and Igor Wakhévitch the music. The opera poem was recorded in Paris in 1974 with Dalí in the role of the protagonist.


Fashion and photography

Fashion designer
Elsa Schiaparelli Elsa Schiaparelli ( , , ; 10 September 1890 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian fashion designer from an Italian nobility, aristocratic background. She created the Schiaparelli (fashion house), house of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, which she ...
worked with Dalí from the 1930s and commissioned him to produce a white dress with a lobster print. Other designs Dalí made for her include a shoe-shaped hat and a pink belt with lips for a buckle. He was also involved in creating textile designs and perfume bottles. In 1950, Dalí created a special "costume for the year 2045" with Christian Dior.Dalí Rotterdam Museum Boijmans
. ''Paris Contemporary Designs''. Retrieved on 8 August 2006.
Photographers with whom he collaborated include
Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...
,
Brassaï Brassaï (; pseudonym of Gyula Halász, ; 9 September 1899 – 8 July 1984) was a Hungarian–French photographer, sculptor, medalist, writer, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France in the 20th century. He was one of the numerou ...
,
Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as costume designer and set designer for stage and screen. His accolades ...
, and Philippe Halsman. Halsman produced the ''Dalí Atomica'' series (1948) – inspired by Dalí's painting ''Leda Atomica''  – which in one photograph depicts "a painter's easel, three cats, a bucket of water, and Dalí himself floating in the air".


Architecture

Dalí's architectural achievements include his Port Lligat house near
Cadaqués Cadaqués (; ) is a town in the Alt Empordà ''comarca'', in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is on a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus peninsula, near Cap de Creus cape, on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean. It is a two-and-a- ...
, as well as his Theatre Museum in
Figueres Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...
. A major work outside of Spain was the temporary ''Dream of Venus'' Surrealist pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair, which contained several unusual sculptures and statues, including live performers posing as statues. In 1958, Dalí completed ''Crisalida,'' a temporary installation promoting a drug, which was exhibited at a medical convention in San Francisco.


Literary works

In his only novel, ''Hidden Faces'' (1944), Dalí describes the intrigues of a group of eccentric aristocrats whose extravagant lifestyle symbolizes the decadence of the 1930s. The Comte de Grandsailles and Solange de Cléda pursue a love affair, but interwar political turmoil and other vicissitudes drive them apart. It is variously set in Paris, rural France, Casablanca in North Africa, and Palm Springs in the United States. Secondary characters include aging widow Barbara Rogers, her bisexual daughter Veronica, Veronica's sometime female lover Betka, and Baba, a disfigured U.S. fighter pilot. The novel was written in New York, and translated by
Haakon Chevalier Haakon Maurice Chevalier (September 10, 1901 – July 4, 1985) was an American writer, translator, and professor of French literature at the University of California, Berkeley best known for his friendship with physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who ...
. His other literary works include ''The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí'' (1942), ''Diary of a Genius'' (1966), and ''Oui: The Paranoid-Critical Revolution'' (1971). Dalí also published poetry, essays, art criticism, and a technical manual on art.


Graphic arts

Dalí worked extensively in the graphic arts, producing many drawings, etchings, and lithographs. Among the most notable of these works are forty etchings for an edition of Lautréamont's ''The Songs of Maldoror'' (1933) and eighty drypoint reworkings of Goya's ''Caprichos'' (1973–77). From the 1960s, however, Dalí would often sell the rights to images but not be involved in the print production itself. In addition, a large number of fakes were produced in the 1980s and 1990s, thus further confusing the Dalí print market.Forde, Kevin (2011).
Investing in Collectables: An Investor's Guide to Turning Your Passion Into a Portfolio
''. Wiley. p. 170. .
Book illustrations were an important part of Dalí's work throughout his career. His first book illustration was for the 1924 publication of the Catalan poem ' ("The Witches of Liers") by his friend and schoolmate, poet Carles Fages de Climent. His other notable book illustrations, apart from ''The Songs of Maldoror'', include 101 watercolors and engravings for ''The Divine Comedy'' (1960) and 100 drawings and watercolors for ''The Arabian Nights'' (1964).


Politics and personality


Politics and religion

As a youth, Dalí identified as communist, anti-monarchist and anti-clerical, and in 1924 he was briefly imprisoned by the Primo de Rivera dictatorship as a person "intensely liable to cause public disorder". When Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in 1929 his political activism initially intensified. In 1931, he became involved in the Workers' and Peasants' Front, delivering lectures at meetings and contributing to their party journal. However, as political divisions within the Surrealist group grew, Dalí soon developed a more apolitical stance, refusing to publicly denounce fascism. In 1934,
André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...
accused him of being sympathetic to Hitler and Dalí narrowly avoided being expelled from the group. In 1935 Dalí wrote a letter to Breton suggesting that non-white races should be enslaved. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the Republic. However, immediately after Franco's victory in 1939, Dalí praised Catholicism and the Falange and was expelled from the Surrealist group. After Dalí's return to his native Catalonia in 1948, he publicly supported Franco's regime and announced his return to the Catholic faith. Dalí was granted an audience with Pope Pius XII in 1949 and with
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
in 1959. He had official meetings with General Franco in June 1956, October 1968, and May 1974. In 1968, Dalí stated that on Franco's death there should be no return to democracy and Spain should become an absolute monarchy. In September 1975, Dalí publicly supported Franco's decision to execute three alleged Basque terrorists and repeated his support for an absolute monarchy, adding: "Personally, I'm against freedom; I'm for the Holy Inquisition." In the following days, he fled to New York after his home in Port Lligat was stoned and he had received numerous death threats. When King Juan Carlos visited the ailing Dalí in August 1981, Dalí told him: "I have always been an anarchist and a monarchist." Dalí espoused a mystical view of Catholicism and in his later years he claimed to be a Catholic and an agnostic. He was interested in the writings of the Jesuit priest and philosopher
Teilhard de Chardin Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (; 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit, Catholic priest, scientist, palaeontologist, theologian, and teacher. He was Darwinian and progressive in outlook and the author of several influential theologica ...
and his
Omega Point The Omega Point is a theorized future event in which the entirety of the universe spirals toward a final point of unification. The term was invented by the French Jesuit Catholic priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955). Teilhard argued tha ...
theory. Dalí's painting '' Tuna Fishing (Homage to Meissonier)'' (1967) was inspired by his reading of Chardin.


Sexuality

Dalí's sexuality had a profound influence on his work. He stated that as a child he saw a book with graphic illustrations of venereal diseases, and this provoked a life-long disgust of female genitalia and a fear of impotence and sexual intimacy. Dalí frequently stated that his main sexual activity involved
voyeurism Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". ...
and masturbation and his preferred sexual orifice was the anus. Dalí said that his wife Gala was the only person with whom he had achieved complete coitus. From 1927, Dalí's work featured graphic and symbolic sexual images usually associated with other images evoking shame and disgust. Anal and fecal imagery is prominent in his work from this time. Some of the most notable works reflecting these themes include ''
The First Days of Spring ''The First Days of Spring'' is an oil and collage on panel painting by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí, created in 1929. Description The setting for this image is an expansive, smooth gray plane. It is elevated on the right and steps dow ...
'' (1929), ''
The Great Masturbator ''The Great Masturbator'' (1929) is a painting executed by Salvador Dalí during the Surrealism, surrealist epoch. It is currently displayed at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid. Description The centre of the painting has a dis ...
'' (1929), and ''
The Lugubrious Game ''The Lugubrious Game'' (or ''The Mournful Game'') is a part oil painting and part collage-on-cardboard work created by Salvador Dalí in 1929. The name of the painting was given by poet Paul Éluard. History In 1929, several Surrealists includi ...
'' (1929). Several of Dalí's intimates in the 1960s and 1970s have stated that he would arrange for selected guests to perform choreographed sexual activities to aid his voyeurism and masturbation.


Personality

Dalí was renowned for his eccentric and ostentatious behavior throughout his career. In 1941, the Director of Exhibitions and Publications at MoMA wrote: "The fame of Salvador Dalí has been an issue of particular controversy for more than a decade. ... Dalí's conduct may have been undignified, but the greater part of his art is a matter of dead earnest." When Dalí was elected to the French Academy of Fine Arts in 1979, one of his fellow academicians stated that he hoped Dalí would now abandon his "clowneries". In 1936, at the premiere screening of
Joseph Cornell Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American visual artist and filmmaker, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde experimental filmma ...
's film ''
Rose Hobart Rose Hobart (born Rose Kefer; May 1, 1906 – August 29, 2000) was an American actress and a Screen Actors Guild official. Early years Born in New York City, Hobart was the daughter of a cellist in the New York Symphony Orchestra, Paul Ke ...
'' at Julien Levy's gallery in New York City, Dalí knocked over the projector in a rage. "My idea for a film is exactly that," he said shortly afterward, "I never wrote it down or told anyone, but it is as if he had stolen it!" In 1939, after creating a window display for Bonwit Teller, he became so enraged by unauthorized changes to his work that he pushed a display bathtub through a plate glass window. In 1955, he delivered a lecture at the Sorbonne, arriving in a Rolls-Royce full of cauliflowers. To promote Robert Descharnes' 1962 book ''The World of Salvador Dalí'', he appeared in a Manhattan bookstore on a bed, wired up to a machine that traced his brain waves and blood pressure. He would autograph books while thus monitored, and the book buyer would also be given the paper chart recording. After World War II, Dalí became one of the most recognized artists in the world, and his long cape, walking stick, haughty expression, and upturned waxed mustache became icons of his brand. His boastfulness and public declarations of his genius became essential elements of the public Dalí persona: "every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí".The Surreal World of Salvador Dalí
. ''Smithsonian Magazine.'' 2005. Retrieved 31 August 2006.
Dalí frequently traveled with his pet
ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted Felidae, wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Central and South America, ...
Babou, even bringing it aboard the luxury ocean liner SS ''France''. Dalí's fame meant he was a frequent guest on television in Spain, France and the United States, including appearances on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...
'' on 7 January 1963, '' The Mike Wallace Interview'' and the panel show ''
What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...
''. Dalí appeared on ''The Dick Cavett Show'' on 6 March 1970 carrying an anteater. He also appeared in numerous advertising campaigns such as chocolatesSalvador Dalí at Le Meurice Paris and St Regis in New York
Andreas Augustin, ehotelier.com, 2007
and Braniff International Airlines in 1968.''Namath: A Biography'', Mark Kriegel p. 290


Legacy

Two major museums are devoted to Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in
Figueres Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...
, Catalonia, Spain, and the
Salvador Dalí Museum The Salvador Dalí Museum is an American art museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, dedicated to the works of Salvador Dalí. Designed by Yann Weymouth, the museum is located on the Downtown St. Petersburg Historic District, downtown St. Petersburg ...
in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, Florida, U.S. Dalí's life and work have been an important influence on pop art, other Surrealists, and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. He has also had a continuing influence on contemporary culture. He has been portrayed on film by
Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. #Filmography, His filmography often sees him portraying eccentric characters across a diverse range of genres. Known for starring in both major studio productions and in ...
in ''
Little Ashes ''Little Ashes'' is a 2008 Spanish-British biographical drama film directed by Paul Morrison and written by Philippa Goslett. Set in Spain during the 1920s and 1930s, the film dramatizes the early years of three prominent figures in 20th-centu ...
'' (2008), by
Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama '' The Pianist'' (2002) becoming the youngest acto ...
in ''
Midnight in Paris ''Midnight in Paris'' is a 2011 fantasy comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. Set in Paris, the film follows Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a screenwriter and aspiring novelist, who is forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationsh ...
'' (2011), and by
Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...
in '' Dalíland''. The Spanish television series ''
Money Heist ''Money Heist'' (, , ) is a Spanish heist crime drama television series created by Álex Pina. The series traces two long-prepared heists led by the Professor ( Álvaro Morte), one on the Royal Mint of Spain, and one on the Bank of Spain, ...
'' (2017–2021) includes characters wearing a costume of red jumpsuits and Dalí masks. The creator of the series stated that the Dalí mask was chosen because it was an iconic Spanish image. The
Salvador Dalí Desert Salvador Dalí Desert (), also known as Dalí Valley (Valle de Dalí), is a desert within the borders of the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve, located in the southwestern region of the Potosí Department in Bolivia. It has an average a ...
in Bolivia and the Dalí crater on the planet Mercury are named for him. The container ship
MV Dali MV ''Dali'' is a Neopanamax container ship built by Hyundai Heavy Industries. On 26 March 2024, she caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after losing power and colliding with one of its supports. Contracted in 201 ...
was also named after him in 2015. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation currently serves as his official estate. The US copyright representative for the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation is the
Artists Rights Society Artists Rights Society (ARS) is a copyright, licensing, and monitoring organization for visual artists in the United States. Founded in 1987, ARS is a member of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers and as such repre ...
.


Honors

* 1964: Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...
* 1972: Associate member of the
Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium ( , sometimes referred to as ' ) is the independent learned society of science and arts of the French Community of Belgium. One of Belgium's numerous academies, it is the French-speak ...
* 1978: Associate member of the
Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...
of the
Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...
* 1981: Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...
* 1982: Created 1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol, by
King Juan Carlos King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...


Selected works

Dalí produced over 1,600 paintings and numerous graphic works, sculptures, three-dimensional objects, and designs.Descharnes, Robert and Néret, Giles, ''Dalí'', Taschen, 2001 – 2007 Some of his major works are: * (''An Andalusian Dog'') (1929) (film in collaboration with
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
) * ''
The Great Masturbator ''The Great Masturbator'' (1929) is a painting executed by Salvador Dalí during the Surrealism, surrealist epoch. It is currently displayed at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid. Description The centre of the painting has a dis ...
'' (1929) * '' L'Age d'Or'' (''The Golden Age'') (1930) (film in collaboration with Luis Buñuel) * ''
The Persistence of Memory ''The Persistence of Memory'' (, ) is a 1931 painting by artist Salvador Dalí and one of the most recognizable works of Surrealism. First shown at the Julien Levy Gallery in 1932, since 1934 the painting has been in the collection of the Museu ...
'' (1931) * '' Lobster Telephone'' (1936) * ''
Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) ''Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War)'' (1936) is a painting by the Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. Dalí created the piece to represent the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, having painted it only six months ...
'' (1936) * '' Metamorphosis of Narcissus'' (1937) * '' The Burning Giraffe'' (1937) * '' Mae West Lips Sofa'' (1937) * Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee (1944) * ''
The Madonna of Port Lligat ''The Madonna of Port Lligat'' is a pair of paintings by Salvador Dalí. The first was created in 1949, measuring 49 x 37.5 centimetres (19.3 x 14.8 in), and is housed in the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ...
'' (1949) * ''
Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) ''Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus)'' is a 1954 oil-on-canvas painting by Salvador Dalí. A nontraditional, surrealism, surrealist Crucifixion in art, portrayal of the Crucifixion, it depicts Christ on a polyhedron net of a tesseract (hypercube). ...
'' (c. 1954) (also known as Hypercubic Christ) * ''
Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity ''Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity'' is an oil painting by Salvador Dalí from 1954. History and description During the 1950s, Dalí painted many of his subjects as composed of rhinoceros horns. Here, the young virgi ...
'' (1954) * '' The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus'' (1958) * ''Perpignan Railway Station'' (c. 1965) * ''
The Hallucinogenic Toreador ''The Hallucinogenic Toreador'' (Spanish: El Torero Alucinógeno) is a 1969–1970 multi-leveled oil painting by Salvador Dalí which employs the canons of his particular interpretation of surrealist thought. It is currently being exhibited at ...
'' (1970)


Dalí museums and permanent exhibitions

* Dalí Theatre-Museum
Figueres Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...
, Catalonia, Spain, holds the largest collection of Dalí's work * Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Reina Sofia Museum) – Madrid, Spain, holds a significant collection *
Salvador Dalí House Museum The Salvador Dalí House Museum (; ) is a house museum in Portlligat, Cadaqués, Catalonia, Spain, where Spanish painter Salvador Dalí lived and worked, from 1930 to 1982. After the death of his wife, Gala Dalí, in 1982, he took up residence at ...
Port Lligat, Catalonia, Spain *
Salvador Dalí Museum The Salvador Dalí Museum is an American art museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, dedicated to the works of Salvador Dalí. Designed by Yann Weymouth, the museum is located on the Downtown St. Petersburg Historic District, downtown St. Petersburg ...
St Petersburg, Florida, contains the collection of Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, and over 1500 works by Dalí, including seven large "masterworks".


Gallery

File: Dalí. Gala.JPG, ''Gala in the Window'' (1933),
Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...
File: Salvador Dali The Rainbow 1972.jpg, '' The Rainbow'' (1972), M.T. Abraham Foundation File:Dalí.Rinoceronte.JPG, ''Rinoceronte vestido con puntillas'' (1956), Puerto José Banús File:Plaza de Dalí (Madrid) 08.jpg, Plaza de Dalí (Dalí Square), Madrid File:Dalí.Perseo.JPG, ''Perseo'' (''
Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...
''), Marbella File:Children-at-Dali-exibition.jpg, Children at Dalí exhibition in
Sakıp Sabancı Museum The Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum () is a private fine arts museum in Istanbul, Turkey, dedicated to Islamic calligraphy, calligraphic art, religious and state documents, as well as paintings of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman era. The ...
, Istanbul


See also

*
List of Spanish artists This is a list of notable Spanish people, Spanish artists born after 1800. For artists born before this year, see List of Spanish artists (born 1300–1500) and List of Spanish artists (born 1500–1800) Born 1801–1850 *Bernardo López ...
*
Salvador Dalí and Dance Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...


Notes


References


Further reading

Important books by or about Salvador Dalí readily available in English include: * Ades, Dawn, ''Salvador Dalí'', Thames and Hudson, 1995 (2nd ed.) * Dalí, Salvador, ''Oui: the paranoid-critical revolution: writings 1927–1933,'' (edited by Robert Descharnes, translated by Yvonne Shafir), Boston: Exact Change, 1998 *Dalí, Salvador, ''The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí'', New York, Dover, 1993 (translated by Haakon M. Chevalier, first published 1942) * Dalí, Salvador, ''The Diary of a Genius'', London, Hutchinson, 1990 (translated by Richard Howard, first published 1964) * Dalí, Salvador, ''The Unspeakable Confessions of Salvador Dalí'', London, Quartet Books, 1977 (first published 1973) * Descharnes, Robert, ''Salvador Dalí'' (translated by Eleanor R. Morse), New York, Abradale Press, 1993 * Gibson, Ian, ''The Shameful Life of Salvador Dalí'', London, Faber and Faber, 1997 * Shanes, Eric, ''Salvador Dalí'', Parkstone International, 2014


External links

*
Salvador Dalí on What's My Line?
* Interview and bank advertisement. * A collection of interviews and footage of Dalí in the French television

15 December 2015. Harry Ransom Center, the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

''Panorama'': Salvador Dali
Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was a conservative British journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, i ...
BBC interview, first transmitted 4 May 1955 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalí, Salvador 1904 births 1989 deaths 20th-century male artists 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish sculptors Catholic painters Federico García Lorca Former Marxists Francoists Illeists Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Marquesses of Spain Mathematical artists Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Painters from Catalonia People from Figueres Recipients of the Legion of Honour Spanish artists Spanish erotic artists Spanish illustrators Spanish male painters Spanish male sculptors Spanish modern painters Spanish monarchists Spanish people of Jewish descent Spanish printmakers Spanish Roman Catholics Spanish surrealist artists Surrealist filmmakers People of Arab descent