Salvador Dali Biography - Famous Spanish Artist|
Born as: "Salvador Domenec Felip Jacint
Dalí Domenech" known as "Salvador
Dali was born on: May 11, 1904
Born at: Catalonia, Spain
Dali Died: January 23, 1989
Salvador Dali was an eccentric Spanish painter
that understood how the media worked and used
it to its full potential. Dali's name is synonymous
with the Surrealist art movement. Dali was a prolific
artist, creating more than 1500 paintings during
his life time and many works in other mediums,
including prints, drawings, sculpture, book illustration,
and theater set designs.
Salvador Dalí was born on the 11th of May,
1904 in the Spanish town of Figueres, Catalonia.
His father "Salvador Dalí i Cusí"
and mother "Felipa Domenech Ferres"
provided Dali and his sister with a comfortable
upbringing. The young Salvador Dali drew from
an early age and was encouraged by his sympathetic
mother. She died of cancer when the artist was
just 16 though, and his father remarried the sister
of his mother.
In 1922 Salvador Dali moved to Madrid to study
painting at the Academy of Arts. Here he began
to develop a reputation as an eccentric, attracting
attention with his manner of dress, hairstyles,
and comments on art. The artist experimented with
forms of Cubism and Dadaism during his studies.
Dali did not complete his final exams, and commented
that those judging his work were not competent
enough to grade him.
Dali moved to Paris, France to pursue his career
as an artist and to be amongst many of the most
progressive artists of the time. It was here that
Dali met Pablo Picasso for the first time, a fellow
Spaniard whom he greatly admired. He also became
involved with Andre Breton and the Surrealist
art movement. Around this time he also created
surreal works that would come to represent what
Surrealism was to many people, with works like
"The Great Masturbator" and the famous
Dali melting clocks "The Persistence of Memory".
In 1929 Salvador Dali met his wife Helena Diakonova,
a Russian immigrant that was already married and
was more than 10 years older than him. Know as
"Gala" she became Dali's muse, lover,
supporter and business manager. The couple were
married in 1934 and she remained a major part
of Dali's life up until his death.
Salvador Dali had a falling out with the Surrealists
over politics and Dali's behavior. Andre Breton
nicknamed Dali "Avida Dollars" and was
expelled from the Surrealist movement. Dali was
quoted as saying "Surrealism is me".
Dali went on to become a great success in the
United States. He became a celebrity with his
attention seeking comments, appearance and surreal
paintings. He attracted commissions from wealthy
clients like Helena Rubinstein. Dali and his wife
Gala spent and 8 years in America, before returning
to Catalonia in Spain.
In 1982 his beloved wife and companion Gala died.
Dali was suffering his own problems battling with
the debilitating condition of palsy. He then moved
into the castle he bought for Gala in Pubol until
he was injured under suspicious circumstances
when a fire broke out in 1984. He was then moved
to his hometown of Figueres, Catalonia, Spain
where he died from heart problems on the 23rd
of January, 1989.
Salvador Dali was a wealthy artist during his
lifetime. He understood how to attract media attention
and paved the way for media savvy artists like
Pop Artist Andy Warhol. Dali had two museums dedicated
to his life and work while he was still living.
His works continue to fetch increasingly high
prices in art auction houses throughout the world
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