Biography Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989), was a Spanish surrealist painter.

Salvidor Dali was one of the most iconic painters of the Twentieth Century, with a range of imaginative, striking and surrealist work. His repertoire was influenced by classical Renaissance masters, but he also enjoyed painting with an avant garde approach.

As well as painting, he became involved in film, scuplture and photography.

Dali was born in Catalonia (region of Spain in 1904) and placed great emphasis on his Arabic lineage (descendent of the Moors). He stated that this Arabic descent influened his approach to life and his love of luxury and oriental clothes.

Dali had a habit of doing eccentric things which polarised opinioins. His eccentric manner was a reflection of his art and vice versa. The fact that he was alwasy in the limelight made his paintings more famous. He could also display a supreme confidence.

“At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.”- Salvidor Dali

“Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dali.”

- Salvidor Dali

Early life of Dali

Dali was brought up by a strict father close to the French border of Catalonia. However, his artistic side was encouraged by a domestic servant. He later went to drawing school and by the time he was 15, had his first public art exibition in Figueres.

In 1922, after the death of his mother, he moved to Madrid, where be devoted more time to art. He experimented with cubism and Dada, two new strands in modern art. He also became well known for his distintive, eccentric dress sense. His rebellious attitude culminated in 1926, when he was expelled from art school just before his exams. Dali had complained no one in his art school was sufficiently competent to judge him.

After leaving art school, he travelled to Paris, where he became friendly with Pablo Picasso. Picasso was a great influence on the young Dali, and some of his early works were inspired by Picasso's style. But, Dali was never an imitator, he was always seeking to incorporate cutting edge avant garde styles into his work. His work became increasingly well known, and reviews were mixed with art critics increasingly polarised by the work of Dali.

In 1931, Dali painted one of his most famous works, The Persistence of Memory. Sometimes called Soft Watches or Melting Clocks, the work introduced the This is a surrealistic image of a soft, melting pocket watch. It is has become an iconic artwork of the twentieth century - amongst other things it points to the illusion of time.

Salvidor Dali wrote on the importance and symbolism of surrealism

“Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.”

When Franco rose to power in 1936, Dali was one of the few Spanish intellectuals to support Franco, this left him a lifelong association with Fascism, which was hard to escape from. Fellow artists, who were often of a different political persuasion felt betrayed by Dali's support for Fascism. In 1940, he moved to the US where he lived for eight years, before returning to Catalonia in 1949 under Franco's regime.

As World War II started in Europe, Dalí and Gala moved to the United States in 1940, where they lived for eight years. In 1942, he published his autobiography, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí.

In the post war years, Dali continued to be inventive, experimenting with unusual media, such as holography, 4D and bulletist works. Some art contained optical illusions and his work had an influence on future pop art.

“People love mystery, and that is why they love my paintings.”

- Salvidor Dali

In the 1960s, he began work on the Dali Theatre and museum in his home town of Figueres. This proved to be an important body of his work.

In 1982, he was awarded the title the Marquis of Pubol by King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Dalie died in 1989, at the age of 84, from heart failure. He is buried in the crypt of Teatro Museo in Figueres.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. " Biography of Salvador Dali ", Oxford, www.biographyonline.net 26 Dec. 2012

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