Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali

Born on the 11^th day of May 1904 in Spain, Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dali lived to be among the icons of the artistic world. Dali had two homes as a kid. He spent his winter at the Figueres area in Spain that borders France and his summers at their Cadaque home on the coastal beach of Spain. His father was a prominent notary (Dali).

Dali’s first step towards art began when he joined the San Fernando Academy of Fine Art in Madrid. It is here that he natured his talent of art. At the age of 21 years, Dali’s talent took a boost when he presented his first one-man show in Barcelona. This inspired him at considerable length and led to his recognition as an international artist. Three years later, he attended the annual Carnegie International Exhibition in Pittsburg and presented plausible pieces of art. Following this was the one-man Paris show in the year 1929. Dali had been leaving his artistic life as an impressionist all along this period. However, after the 1929 Paris exhibition, he transformed his life into surrealist (Dali).

As a surrealist, Dali was working with people of refined experience. This included the likes of the Dadaist Andre Breton, who was their leader at that time. Dali was becoming perfect. Through persistence, hard work and his exceptional talent, Dali became their leader thereafter. Having no interest or association in politics, this led to the disowning of Dali by the surrealist and his expulsion from the surrealist group in 1934. It, therefore, led to the transition of his life from being a surrealist to a classical artist (Dali).

The negative effects of the Second World War to the world brought positive changes to Dali’s life as an artist. This was due to change of his location. The war caused his move to America. He stayed there from the year 1940 to 1948 making him a renowned artist. Following this was a superb exhibition in the Museum of the Modern Art in New York (Spyros and Helen). After the exhibition, it led to the first publishing of his autobiography. This was a congratulatory move to mark him as a quality artist. The autobiography was The Secret Life of Salvadro Dali (Haakon and Dali). Also, Dali never hesitated to give back to his community.

In 1974, he established the Teatro Museo in his Figueres home village of Spain. He also established other centers in Paris and London. Dali lived a social life too. He met Gala and married her at the age of 25 years. They moved and built their home at Port Llgat in Spain. This was a town near to his hometown. Gala became Dali’s muse, business manager and his source of inspiration as an artist. When his wife died in the year 1982, Dali’s health deteriorated tremendously. He became worse after the burning of his house that made him sustain injuries. This occurred in 1984 at his home in Pubol. This led to the implantation of a pacemaker, two years later. Dali then spent most of the rest of his life in isolation. First, at his Pubol home and later at his apartments in the town of Tore Galtea that was close to his Museo in Teatro. Following this was his demise on the 23^rd day of March in 1989. The cause of his death was a heart disease. Before his death, Dali left behind a vivid memory of paintings. Forgetting his paintings will never be easy (Dali).

These paintings include the famous exhibit at Pittsburg in 1928 called The Basket of Bread that caused worldwide attention. Before his expulsion by the surrealist, Dali had also done the famous Persistence of Memory piece. Arguably, the best renowned pieces of his work are the nineteen larger canvasses he did. These include the Hallucinogenic Toeador, The Discovery of America, and The Sacrament of the Last Supper. Dali perfected his form of paintings because of various reasons. His life and lifestyle drove him.

After spending his early life in Spain, both in Figueres and Cadaques, Dali developed a love for his environment. This, therefore, made him make artistic paintings that reflected and showed love of his home areas of Spain. At this early stage of art, Dali is an impressionist. He mostly paints outdoor pictures and portrays an overall impression of the environment using different color shades. This captures realism and originality (Rewald 1973). Dali was also not political.

The apolitical character of Dali is the reason behind his paintings that involved science, history, and religion. His historical and religious paintings include The Discovery of America and The Sacrament of The Last Supper respectively. This wide variety of paintings shows Dali’s delimitations to a style or media. This is because of his wide life and views that he possessed. As surrealist, he embarked on more intricate elements of surprise and juxtapositions in his work. Doing this, he reflected his philosophical stands (Dawn and Mathew). Since Dali was improving his paintings gradually, he finally became a classical artist.

Classical art originates from ancient Greece. It is the standard mark of quality in relation to artistic works. It comprises of paintings, sculpture, and architecture (Hemingway et al). Dali was classical since he was elegant and refined.   

To celebrate Dali, his museum is up to date and offers a wide range of a variety of artistic pieces and books to both learners and tutors. This is beneficial to both art and history among other disciplines such as tourism.