Salvador Dalí was a 20th-century Spanish artist known for his surrealist works and eccentric personality , which has influenced many subsequent generations. Everyone will undoubtedly recognize his distinctive upturned mustache.
Let's learn a little about the life of this unique and important artist, and look at some of his most representative works.
Salvador Dalí, knowing his life
The personality that Salvador Dalí would develop began nine months before he was born. Dalí's brother died at that time, and when, five years later, he visited his brother's grave, his parents told him that he was his reincarnation.
Dalí became obsessed with this idea, believing that he and his brother were two peas in a pod, albeit with "different reflections." He would even paint his brother's portrait in Portrait of My Dead Brother.
Painting came into the artist's life through the family of Ramón Pichot, a Catalan painter who recommended that Dalí's parents enroll him in art classes with Juan Núñez. The first prize he won was at an exhibition in Barcelona when he was fourteen.
Another death would mark Dalí's life: that of his mother , who died of uterine cancer. Phrases such as "it was the hardest blow I have ever received" or "...loss of the person I relied on to make the inevitable stains on my soul invisible" would be uttered by Dalí in the face of that loss.
His studies and trip to Paris
Dalí continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid. He quickly attracted attention for his eccentric character. There he met important figures of his time such as Luis Buñuel and Federico García Lorca , who is also known for his plays . He would collaborate with some of them, for example, on the screenplay for Buñuel's film Un Chien Andalou (1929).
During his time in Paris in the Roaring Twenties , he befriended artists such as Joan Miró and Picasso. Interestingly, he joined the Surrealist group led by André Breton. This artistic style not only achieved great success but also became Dalí's signature.
Salvador Dalí meets Gala
It was during his trip to Paris that he met the great love of his life, Gala, a woman married to the poet Paul Éluard. His father disapproved of his relationship with Gala and of Dalí's lifestyle in general, and around that time he severed ties with his father. This event is significant as it would influence his work. From this period, we have, most notably, The Persistence of Memory (1931), perhaps the painter's most famous work. A deeper analysis of The Persistence of Memory is recommended.
In 1934 he married Gala , and around that time he began participating in numerous exhibitions. Edward James was his patron during this period, and all of his exhibitions were made possible through his support. He would live between New York and Paris for much of his life.
His trip to Italy in the mid-1930s would also have a significant impact on his artistic development, as he began to be drawn to religious art and the emerging surrealist works. Examples of this period include works such as Crucifixion, The Last Supper , and the Madonna of Port Lligat.
Stay in the United States
In the 40s, German troops entered Bordeaux, where Dalí and Gala lived, and the couple moved to the United States, where they remained until they decided to return to Spain. It was at this time that Dalí began his interest in jewelry design, something he would maintain for the rest of his life.
He designed stage sets for operas such as Labyrinth, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera House. In addition, an exhibition of Dalí and Miró's work opened at MoMA in 1941. He also designed sets for ballets and theatrical productions.
Dalí's life would be published a year later, and the artist's life would reach the hands of thousands of people interested in him on paper.
On March 21st, one of the most important surviving collections of Dalí's works began to take shape: the Reynolds Morse collection. On that date, they purchased the first of many of Dalí's paintings.
The world of cinema led him to work not only with Buñuel but also with Alfred Hitchcock.
Salvador Dalí's return to Spain
Dalí returned to Spain in 1949 and still had more than forty years of creating works, although according to art historians his best work was already done.
Although he settled in Spain, he continued to do work all over the world, such as the presentation in Paris of the Manifeste mystique, and he would produce other French publications such as Arts, Le Courrier des lettres or Connaissance des Arts.
In 1954 he exhibited in Rome the drawings he made to illustrate Dante's Divine Comedy and his experiences in modernist art were widely recognized.
In 1961 he would receive a tribute in his hometown, at the same time as the construction of the Dalí Theatre-Museum began.
In 1964 she was awarded the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic , a very important distinction in Spain.
He remained active, publishing in magazines around the world, exhibiting, illustrating books, and pursuing an extensive artistic program until his death. When he died in Figueres in 1989, he left behind a persona that had been cultivated over the years and that would propel him to fame, from his artwork to his signature mustache.
