Salvador Dali

Salvador Dalí, in full Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí y Domenech, was born May 11, 1904, in Figueras, Spain, and died on January 23, 1989. This Spanish surrealist painter and printmaker was known for his explorations of subconscious imagery.

As an art student in Madrid and Barcelona, Dalí absorbed a number of artistic styles and displayed unusual technical dexterity as a painter. It was not until the late 1920s that two events brought about the development of his mature artistic style. First, his discovery of Sigmund Freud's writings on the erotic significance of subconscious imagery. Second, his affiliation with the Paris Surrealists, a group of artists and writers who sought to establish a “greater reality" of the human subconscious over reason. To evoke images from his subconscious mind, Dalí partook in self-induced hallucinatory states, a process he described as “paranoiac-critical". 

Upon Dalí establishing this method, his painting style matured at an extraordinary rate. Thanks to Rene Magritte and Joan Miró, from 1929 to 1937, Dalí had produced the artworks that had earned him the title of the world's best-known Surrealist artist. He depicted a dream world in which commonplace objects are juxtaposed, deformed, or otherwise metamorphosed in a bizarre and irrational manner.

The famous artist dabbled in other media as well. Alongside Spanish director Luis Buñuel, Dalí made two Surrealist films—Un Chien Andalou (1928; An Andalusian Dog) and L'Âge d'Or (1930; The Golden Age)—that are similarly filled with grotesque but highly suggestive images. Dalí also wrote books; perhaps the most interesting and revealing being The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí (1942-44).

By the late 1930s, Dalí switched to painting in a more academic style under the influence of the Renaissance painter Raphael. By doing so, he was consequently expelled from the Surrealist movement. Thereafter, he spent much of his time designing theatre sets, fashionable shop interiors, jewelry, as well as exhibiting his genius for flamboyant self-promotional stunts in the United States, where he lived from 1940 to 1955.

From 1950 to 1970, Dalí painted many works with religious themes, although he continued to explore erotic subjects, childhood memories, and themes surrounding his wife, Gala. Despite their technical accomplishments, Dalí's later paintings are not as highly regarded as his earlier works. 

In 2024, Salvador Dalí's legacy continues to captivate art enthusiasts worldwide through significant exhibitions and events. Notably, the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, is hosting a conference titled "100 Years of Surrealism" from December 13 to 15, 2024. This event commemorates the centennial of the 1924 publication of the "First Surrealist Manifesto" by André Breton, exploring Surrealism's evolution and its profound impact on art and culture. 

Looking ahead, the Fundació Gala - Salvador Dalí in Figueres, Catalonia, is presenting the exhibition "The Awakening of the Myth: Gala Dalí" from March 18 to May 31, 2025. This exhibition delves into the life and influence of Gala Dalí, the artist's muse and wife, highlighting her significant role in his creative journey.