Born in the picturesque town of the Figueres in Spain, in 1904 Salvador Dali P was the second child of Salvador Dali Y Cusi and Felipa Domenech Ferres. Dali’s father Salvador Dali Y Cusi was a lawyer and a notary, he believed in raising children in strict discipline in contrast to that of Dali’s mother who was kind hearted and comforted Dali when scolded by his father (Salvador Dalí Biography 2016). The family would go to spend summers to Cadaques, a village situated at the seaside. As a young boy Dali looked forward to go the summer house and indulge in painting and enjoy freedom. Dali had a sister named Ana Maria, who was younger to him. His elder brother who was nine months elder to him also named Salvador died of Gastroenteritis. He was told by his parents that he is his elder brother’s reincarnation. As a young child Dali was intelligent and talented, his mother would indulge him in art and admired his talent. Dali’s formal education began in Figueres. He never liked going to school, and he was always lost in his dreams. Displeased, his father shifted him to a private school where he learnt French language which he used in his later life. In the year 1916, Dali was sent to Colegio De Hermanos Maristas and the Instituto to study art and to draw in Figueres, Spain. He learnt modern painting in Cadaques while enjoying his vacations with his family. Dali was married to Elena Ivanovna Diakonova, who left surrealist writer Paul Eluard to get married to him. When they first met a strong mental and physical connection was developed which resulted in marriage. The two got married in 1934 in a civil ceremony. Gala managed Dali’s business taking care of legal and financial matters, negotiating the exhibition contracts with the dealers and art promoters (Salvador Dalí Biography 2016).
Art and Surrealism Dali took admission at Academia De San Fernando in Madrid in 1922. Dali got inspired by several artistic styles like Cubism and Metaphysics and experimented with avant grade painting styles mainly Futurism and Purism, which he learnt through art journals. It was at this time that Dali formed close relations with Federico Garcia Lorca and Luis Bunuel and later collaborated with them to work. Dali started displaying his work in different galleries of Barcelona and Madrid in association with other modern painters. He was expelled from the college in 1926 as he challenged the authority of the academy claiming that no member of the faculty has the caliber to examine his work. From 1926 to 1929 Dali frequently travelled to Paris, where he met great artists like Pablo Picasso from whom learnt the nuances of paintings. He also met Joan Miro a Spanish painter, and Rene Magritte, who got Dali invited into the surrealist circle.
In the year 1929 Dali became a member of a group called Surrealist, this group had members from all across the world but primarily lived in Paris (Dali and Surrealism 1).. Surrealist had a different view of art and they did not like the common and traditional art forms, they preferred art forms with shocking elements in it with deeper meanings. So Dali was supported by surrealist who not only accepted his eccentric behavior, but also took pleasure in celebrating bizarre images in his paintings. Dali’s art has been so popular among the surrealist that they called it the epitome of surrealism.
His paintings captured extraordinary fantasies to perplexity, themes containing sadism, eroticism leaving a thin line of distinction between madness and reality. Dali claimed himself to be the only artist efficient of using genuine ideas depicting different surreal forms of art. Without any doubt, it can be said that he painted his dreams and nightmares on canvas which build curiosity and a magnet like an effect drawing viewers and critics (Drughi 2016).
Separation from Surrealist group Although Dali was a member of the surrealist group, he remained apolitical regarding not adopting the social and political ideas of the surrealist movement. His association with the group was more because of his shared interest rather than unity with the group members. Dali was not in good terms with the Andre Breton, leader and founder of the surrealist movement and his relations with him remained strained during the 1930s. Dali’s non-conforming attitude and his self-praising and promoting behavior caused the disturbance within the group. The whole thing dragged till 1939, and finally, Dali broke with the Surrealists (Salvador Dalí: Biography 3). Dali remained an independent artist rest of his life forming his own style and exploring his own reflective opportunities.
There is another theory which is related to his exit from the surrealist group. It is said that Dali was expelled from the surrealist group by a trial held in 1934 where he refused to testify for a Spanish militant Fransico Franco. It is however not clear that this the main reason for Dali’s expulsion from the group. Later Dali was notified that the reason for his expulsion is “counter-revolutionary activity involving the celebration of fascism under Hitler” (Salvador Dalí Biography 2016).
Nuclear Mysticism
Dali invented a new style of painting wherein he felt a deep connection between religion and science, especially physics, the beginning of which initiated with the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. Dali was influenced by the atoms, power it could generate and advancements in the field of science.He found ways to use all these elements into his paintings giving rise to images combining mystic and scientific iconography giving it as a proof of a unity between the two (Salvador Dalí: Biography 2016). Most of his paintings which he made after World War II depicted images related to Christianity with symbols exploring nuclear physics. Dali believed that religion and science are interrelated, and proof of God’s mystic powers lies within the boundary of nuclear physics. His belief in God was strengthened through “Nuclear Mysticism” the proof of which was that he got married again in a Catholic church after twenty-four years of his civil marriage to his wife Gala.
The Dali Theatre-Museum Dali spent around fourteen years from 1960 to 1974 in creating the Teatro-Museo Dali in Figueres, Spain. The building was designed by Dali and is considered to be the world’s largest surrealist structure. Dali designed the space in such way that it would form a single art object with different elements attached, each element making the piece complete. The theatre cum museum is known for showcasing Dali’s work from all stages of his life. Several exquisite art pieces were created especially for permanent display in the museum.
Concluding years of his life Dali had to retire from painting because of a motor disorder that caused trembling and weakness in the hands. It was a difficult phase for somebody like Dali, who expressed his emotions and thoughts best holding a brush and painting. Dali went into depression when his wife Gala died in 1982 (Salvador Dalí Biography 201). He was not able to bear the pain and moved to Pubol where he had bought a castle to stay away from the public. A severe fire broke injuring Dali and confining him to a wheelchair. Dali was brought to his Theatre-Museum in Figueres by his friends and fellow artist. He suffered a heart attack in November 1988, where timely intervention saved his life, but again on 23rd January 1989 his heart failed, and he died at the age of 84. He was buried in the Teatro Museo in a crypt.
My opinion on Dali In my opinion, it is impossible to ignore an artist such as Dali. It is not just his work, but his personality that intrigue the viewer. His works are pleasing and interesting to the eye. The artist definitely was passionate about art and life. He found beauty in the life around and those strange dreams of his own. It can be difficult to say if he bright his life into his art or his art into is life. Regardless of that, he was a true surrealist. His personality was unique just like the4 art he made. His wild and creative imagination was let loose on those canvases where he practiced surrealism with abandonment. Dalí's achievement can be hard to understand, and his style often gets obscured because of his showy temperament and colorful self-promotions. It could be easily argued in the history of art about Dalí being the father of surrealistic art. Those extraordinary images seem to appear on the canvas from nowhere and there seems to be no logic in them first. But, if one observes carefully and for a longer time, the puzzles gets solved and there is a logic after all in those moving streams of energy and thoughts that take on a definite form. Those forms give rise to new thoughts inside you.
I cannot judge him each and every piece and decide if they were good or bad, but I can certainly be sure that the artist intrigues me, and so does his work. It could be debatable if he was weird and quirky. However, there can be no debate on the fact that his works continue to inspire others even today.
Works Cited
"Dalí and Surrealism." A National Gallery of Victoria Education Resource.1.1 (n.d.): 1-12. Print
Drughi, Octavia. "Salvador Dali’s 7 Most Expensive Paintings." therichest. 2016. Web. 12 April. 2016.
"Salvador Dalí Biography." biography. 2016. Web. 12 April. 2016.
"Salvador Dalí: Biography." philamuseum. 2016. Web. 12 April. 2016.
