Salvador Dalí

File:DaliGreatMasturbator.jpg

Spanish surrealist artist (1904–1989)

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquess of Dalí de Púbol (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989), known professionally as Salvador Dalí, was a prominent Spanish surrealist artist born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain. Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in 1931.

Early life

Dalí was born on May 11, 1904, in the town of Figueres, in the Empordà region, close to the French border in Catalonia, Spain. Dalí's older brother, also named Salvador, had died of gastroenteritis nine months earlier, on August 1, 1903. His father, Salvador Dalí i Cusí, was a middle-class lawyer and notary. Dalí's mother, Felipa Domènech Ferrés, encouraged her son's artistic endeavors.

Education and artistic beginnings

Dalí attended drawing school and later studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid. During his time at the academy, Dalí experimented with Cubism and Dada, which would heavily influence his work. He was expelled from the academy in 1926, shortly before his final exams, for declaring that no one on the faculty was competent enough to examine him.

Surrealism and major works

Dalí moved to Paris in 1929 and joined the Surrealist movement. He became close friends with André Breton, the leader of the movement. Dalí's work during this period included some of his most famous pieces, such as The Persistence of Memory (1931), The Elephants (1948), and Christ of Saint John of the Cross (1951).

Personal life

In 1929, Dalí met his muse and future wife, Gala, born Elena Ivanovna Diakonova. Gala was a Russian immigrant ten years his senior, who was married to the surrealist poet Paul Éluard at the time. Dalí and Gala married in a civil ceremony in 1934.

Later years and death

In his later years, Dalí's work was influenced by his interest in science and religion. He created a series of paintings inspired by his fascination with nuclear physics and the theory of relativity. Dalí died of heart failure on January 23, 1989, in his hometown of Figueres, where he is buried in the crypt of his Teatre-Museu Dalí.

Legacy

Dalí's eccentric and flamboyant personality, as well as his technical skill and imaginative works, have made him one of the most famous and influential artists of the 20th century. His works are displayed in museums and collections worldwide, including the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Dalí Universe in London.

See also

• Surrealism
• Cubism
• Modern art
• List of works by Salvador Dalí

External links

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