Salvador Dali Spanish, 1904-1989

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, known as Salvador Dalí, was a Spanish painter, sculptor, writer, and one of the most famous Surrealist artists of the 20th century. He was born on May 11, 1904, in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, and died in the same city on January 23, 1989.

From a young age, Dalí showed an extraordinary talent for drawing and painting. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, where he developed a unique and eccentric personality that would later become part of his artistic identity.

In the 1920s, Dalí moved to Paris and became involved with the Surrealist movement, joining artists such as André Breton, René Magritte, and Luis Buñuel. His works from this period were deeply influenced by Freud’s theories of the unconscious and dreams. Dalí developed his own artistic method called “paranoiac-critical,” which aimed to access the subconscious and transform dreamlike visions into realistic images.

His paintings are famous for their meticulous detail and dreamlike imagery, often filled with symbolic elements such as melting clocks, distorted bodies, and barren landscapes. His most famous painting, “The Persistence of Memory” (1931), featuring soft, melting watches, became one of the most iconic images of Surrealism.

Dalí’s eccentric personality, flamboyant mustache, and provocative behavior made him both admired and controversial. Besides painting, he worked in sculpture, film, photography, and design, collaborating with artists like Luis Buñueland Walt Disney.

After World War II, Dalí’s work became more influenced by science, religion, and classical art, leading to a period he described as “nuclear mysticism.” In his later years, he devoted himself to creating the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, which opened in 1974 and houses a large collection of his works.

Salvador Dalí died in 1989 at the age of 84. Today, he is remembered as a master of imagination and surrealism, whose creativity and eccentric genius continue to fascinate the world.