Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquis of Dalí de Púbol (/ˈdɑːli, dɑːˈliː/, Catalan: [səlβəˈðo ðəˈli], Spanish: [salβaˈðoɾ ðaˈli]; 11 May 1904 – 23 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist.
Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters.[3][4] His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931, and is one of the most recognisable Surrealist paintings. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire included film, sculpture, and photography, at times in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media.
Dalí was highly imaginative, and also enjoyed indulging in unusual and grandiose behavior. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric manner and attention-grabbing public actions sometimes drew more attention than his artwork.
Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters.[3][4] His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931, and is one of the most recognisable Surrealist paintings. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire included film, sculpture, and photography, at times in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media.
Dalí was highly imaginative, and also enjoyed indulging in unusual and grandiose behavior. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric manner and attention-grabbing public actions sometimes drew more attention than his artwork.
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Early life
Salvador Dalí was born on 11 May 1904, at 8:45 am GMT,[7] on the first floor of Carrer Monturiol, 20 in the town of Figueres, in the Empordà region, close to the French border in Catalonia, Spain.[8] 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 Rafael Aniceto Dalí Cusí (1872–1950)[9] was a middle-class lawyer and notary,[10] 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.[12] In the summer of 1912, the family moved to the top floor of Carrer Monturiol 24 (presently 10). Dalí later attributed his "love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes"[15] to an "Arab lineage", claiming that his ancestors were descendants of the Moors.
As a child, Dalí was taken to his brother's grave and told by his parents that he was his brother's reincarnation,[17] a concept which he came to believe.[18] Of his brother, Dalí said, "[we] resembled each other like two drops of water, but we had different reflections."[19] He "was probably a first version of myself but conceived too much in the absolute".[19] Images of his long-dead brother would reappear embedded in his later works, including Portrait of My Dead Brother (1963).
Dalí also had a sister, Anna Maria, who was three years younger.[10] In 1949, she published a book about her brother, Dalí as Seen by His Sister
As a child, Dalí was taken to his brother's grave and told by his parents that he was his brother's reincarnation,[17] a concept which he came to believe.[18] Of his brother, Dalí said, "[we] resembled each other like two drops of water, but we had different reflections."[19] He "was probably a first version of myself but conceived too much in the absolute".[19] Images of his long-dead brother would reappear embedded in his later works, including Portrait of My Dead Brother (1963).
Dalí also had a sister, Anna Maria, who was three years younger.[10] In 1949, she published a book about her brother, Dalí as Seen by His Sister
His childhood friends included future FC Barcelona footballers Sagibarba and Josep Samitier. During holidays at the Catalan resort of Cadaqués, the trio played football together.[21]
Dalí attended drawing school. In 1916, he 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.[10] 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,[22] a site he would return to decades later.
On 6 February 1921, Dalí's mother died of uterine cancer.[23] Dalí was 16 years old; he 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."[6][24] After her death, Dalí's father married his deceased wife's sister. Dalí did not resent this marriage, because he had great love and respect for his aunt
Dalí attended drawing school. In 1916, he 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.[10] 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,[22] a site he would return to decades later.
On 6 February 1921, Dalí's mother died of uterine cancer.[23] Dalí was 16 years old; he 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."[6][24] After her death, Dalí's father married his deceased wife's sister. Dalí did not resent this marriage, because he had great love and respect for his aunt
Later years in Spain
n 1948 Dalí and Gala moved back into their house in Port Lligat, on the coast near Cadaqués. For the next three decades, he would spend most of his time there painting, taking time off and spending winters with his wife in Paris and New York.[6][38] His decision to live in Spain under Franco prompted disagreement from other Spanish artists and intellectuals who remained in exile.
In 1959, André Breton organized an exhibit called Homage to Surrealism, celebrating the fortieth anniversary of Surrealism, which contained works by Dalí, Joan Miró, Enrique Tábara, and Eugenio Granell. Breton vehemently fought against the inclusion of Dalí's Sistine Madonna in the International Surrealism Exhibition in New York the following year.[70]
Late in his career Dalí did not confine himself to painting, but explored many unusual or novel media and processes: for example, he experimented with bulletist artworks.[71] Many of his late works incorporated optical illusions, negative space, visual puns and trompe l'œil visual effects. He also experimented with pointillism, enlarged half-tone dot grids (a technique which Roy Lichtenstein would later use), and stereoscopic images.[72] He was among the first artists to employ holography in an artistic manner.[73] In Dalí's later years, young artists such as Andy Warhol proclaimed him an important influence on pop art.[74]
Dalí also developed a keen interest in natural science and mathematics. This is manifested in several of his paintings, notably from the 1950s, in which he painted his subjects as composed of rhinoceros horn shapes. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. He linked the rhinoceros to themes of chastity and to the Virgin Mary.[75] Dalí was also fascinated by DNA and the tesseract (a four-dimensional cube); an unfolding of a hypercube is featured in the painting Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus).
At some point, Dalí had a glass floor installed in a room near his studio in 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.[72]:17–18, 172 He also delighted in using the room for entertaining guests and visitors to his house and studio. In many of his paintings, Dalí used anamorphosis, a form of eccentric and exaggerated perspective which distorts objects beyond recognition; however, when seen from a particular skewed viewpoint, a legible depiction emerges. He used the power of this technique to conceal "secret" or "forbidden" images in plain sight.[72]:20–25
Dalí's post-World War II period bore the hallmarks of technical virtuosity and an intensifying interest in optical effects, science, and religion. He became an increasingly devout Catholic, while at the same time he had been inspired by the shock of Hiroshima and the dawning of the "atomic age". Therefore, Dalí labeled this period "Nuclear Mysticism". In paintings such as The Madonna of Port Lligat (first version, 1949) and Corpus Hypercubus (1954), Dalí sought to synthesize Christian iconography with images of material disintegration inspired by nuclear physics.[76] His Nuclear Mysticism works included such notable pieces as La Gare de Perpignan (1965) and The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1968–70).
In 1960, Dalí began work on his Theatre and Museum in his home town of Figueres; it was his largest single project and a main focus of his energy through 1974, when it opened. He continued to make additions through the mid-1980s
Dalí continued to indulge in publicity stunts and self-consciously outrageous behavior. To promote his 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.[6]
In 1968, Dalí filmed a humorous television advertisement for Lanvin [fr] chocolates.[79] In this, he proclaims in French "Je suis fou du chocolat Lanvin!" ("I'm crazy about Lanvin chocolate!") while biting a morsel, causing him to become cross-eyed and his moustache to swivel upwards.[80] Also in 1968, his status as an extravagant artist was put to use in a publicity campaign ("If you got it, flaunt it!") for Braniff International Airlines.[81]
In 1969, he designed the Chupa Chups logo,[82][83] in addition to facilitating the design of the advertising campaign for the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest and creating a large on-stage metal sculpture that stood at the Teatro Real in Madrid.[84][85]
In the television programme Dirty Dalí: A Private View broadcast on Channel 4 on 3 June 2007, art critic Brian Sewell described his acquaintance with Dalí in the late 1960s, which included lying down in the fetal position without trousers in the armpit of a figure of Christ and masturbating for Dalí, who pretended to take photos while fumbling in his own trousers
In 1959, André Breton organized an exhibit called Homage to Surrealism, celebrating the fortieth anniversary of Surrealism, which contained works by Dalí, Joan Miró, Enrique Tábara, and Eugenio Granell. Breton vehemently fought against the inclusion of Dalí's Sistine Madonna in the International Surrealism Exhibition in New York the following year.[70]
Late in his career Dalí did not confine himself to painting, but explored many unusual or novel media and processes: for example, he experimented with bulletist artworks.[71] Many of his late works incorporated optical illusions, negative space, visual puns and trompe l'œil visual effects. He also experimented with pointillism, enlarged half-tone dot grids (a technique which Roy Lichtenstein would later use), and stereoscopic images.[72] He was among the first artists to employ holography in an artistic manner.[73] In Dalí's later years, young artists such as Andy Warhol proclaimed him an important influence on pop art.[74]
Dalí also developed a keen interest in natural science and mathematics. This is manifested in several of his paintings, notably from the 1950s, in which he painted his subjects as composed of rhinoceros horn shapes. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. He linked the rhinoceros to themes of chastity and to the Virgin Mary.[75] Dalí was also fascinated by DNA and the tesseract (a four-dimensional cube); an unfolding of a hypercube is featured in the painting Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus).
At some point, Dalí had a glass floor installed in a room near his studio in 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.[72]:17–18, 172 He also delighted in using the room for entertaining guests and visitors to his house and studio. In many of his paintings, Dalí used anamorphosis, a form of eccentric and exaggerated perspective which distorts objects beyond recognition; however, when seen from a particular skewed viewpoint, a legible depiction emerges. He used the power of this technique to conceal "secret" or "forbidden" images in plain sight.[72]:20–25
Dalí's post-World War II period bore the hallmarks of technical virtuosity and an intensifying interest in optical effects, science, and religion. He became an increasingly devout Catholic, while at the same time he had been inspired by the shock of Hiroshima and the dawning of the "atomic age". Therefore, Dalí labeled this period "Nuclear Mysticism". In paintings such as The Madonna of Port Lligat (first version, 1949) and Corpus Hypercubus (1954), Dalí sought to synthesize Christian iconography with images of material disintegration inspired by nuclear physics.[76] His Nuclear Mysticism works included such notable pieces as La Gare de Perpignan (1965) and The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1968–70).
In 1960, Dalí began work on his Theatre and Museum in his home town of Figueres; it was his largest single project and a main focus of his energy through 1974, when it opened. He continued to make additions through the mid-1980s
Dalí continued to indulge in publicity stunts and self-consciously outrageous behavior. To promote his 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.[6]
In 1968, Dalí filmed a humorous television advertisement for Lanvin [fr] chocolates.[79] In this, he proclaims in French "Je suis fou du chocolat Lanvin!" ("I'm crazy about Lanvin chocolate!") while biting a morsel, causing him to become cross-eyed and his moustache to swivel upwards.[80] Also in 1968, his status as an extravagant artist was put to use in a publicity campaign ("If you got it, flaunt it!") for Braniff International Airlines.[81]
In 1969, he designed the Chupa Chups logo,[82][83] in addition to facilitating the design of the advertising campaign for the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest and creating a large on-stage metal sculpture that stood at the Teatro Real in Madrid.[84][85]
In the television programme Dirty Dalí: A Private View broadcast on Channel 4 on 3 June 2007, art critic Brian Sewell described his acquaintance with Dalí in the late 1960s, which included lying down in the fetal position without trousers in the armpit of a figure of Christ and masturbating for Dalí, who pretended to take photos while fumbling in his own trousers
n 1984, a fire broke out in his bedroom[91] under unclear circumstances. It was possibly a suicide attempt by Dalí, or possibly simple negligence by his staff. Dalí was rescued by friend and collaborator Robert Descharnes[92] and returned to Figueres, where a group of his friends, patrons, and fellow artists saw to it that he was comfortable living in his Theater-Museum in his final years.
There have been allegations that Dalí was forced by his guardians to sign blank canvases that would later, even after his death, be used in forgeries and sold as originals.[93] 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.[6] As a result, art dealers tend to be wary of late graphic works attributed to Dalí.[94]
In November 1988, Dalí entered the hospital with heart failure; a pacemaker had been implanted previously. On 5 December 1988, he was visited by King Juan Carlos, who confessed that he had always been a serious devotee of Dalí.[95] Dalí gave the king a drawing, Head of Europa, which would turn out to be Dalí's final drawing.
In early January 1989, Dalí was returned to the Teatro-Museo and on his return he made his last public appearance. He was taken in a wheelchair to a room where press and TV were waiting and made a brief statement, saying:
When you are a genius, you do not have the right to die, because we are necessary for the progress of humanity
On the morning of 23 January 1989, while his favorite record of Tristan and Isolde played, Dalí died of heart failure at the age of 84. He is buried in the crypt below the stage of his Theatre and 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 450 metres (1,480 ft) from the house where he was born.[98]
The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation currently serves as his official estate.[99] The US copyright representative for the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation is the Artists Rights Society
There have been allegations that Dalí was forced by his guardians to sign blank canvases that would later, even after his death, be used in forgeries and sold as originals.[93] 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.[6] As a result, art dealers tend to be wary of late graphic works attributed to Dalí.[94]
In November 1988, Dalí entered the hospital with heart failure; a pacemaker had been implanted previously. On 5 December 1988, he was visited by King Juan Carlos, who confessed that he had always been a serious devotee of Dalí.[95] Dalí gave the king a drawing, Head of Europa, which would turn out to be Dalí's final drawing.
In early January 1989, Dalí was returned to the Teatro-Museo and on his return he made his last public appearance. He was taken in a wheelchair to a room where press and TV were waiting and made a brief statement, saying:
When you are a genius, you do not have the right to die, because we are necessary for the progress of humanity
On the morning of 23 January 1989, while his favorite record of Tristan and Isolde played, Dalí died of heart failure at the age of 84. He is buried in the crypt below the stage of his Theatre and 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 450 metres (1,480 ft) from the house where he was born.[98]
The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation currently serves as his official estate.[99] The US copyright representative for the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation is the Artists Rights Society
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