Salvador Dalì

Salvador Dalì: Art and Biography

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalì i Domenech, aka Dalì, was born on 11 May 1904 in Figueres, Spain. He was best known for his amazing paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, books, films, and even jewelry.

Today, he is still one of the most famous painters in the world and even the small pieces such as earrings are extremely valued in the art world. Original paintings by Salvador Dalì prices can be auctioned for millions of dollars.

Salvador Dalì: Surrealism and Dada

Salvador Dalì made tons of different works on a variety of mediums where he challenged the viewers' reality with Surrealism.

Surrealism was really successful in the visual arts field and was influenced by Dadaism. The word Dada comes from babies’ nonsense words “da-da” and was developed in reaction to World War I, when the artists such as Salvador Dalì, started to reject the new beauty brought by the modern capitalist society. So, artists started to express themselves in an anti-bourgeois, irrational way. 

With Dadaism, artists from all areas brought some new ways to express themselves creatively including; surrealism, cubism, anti-art, … and Salvador Dalì was one of the masters of the movement.

Surrealism, a 20th-century avant-garde  movement in visual art and literature in order to bring the creative potential of the unconscious mind, Dalì made “dream-like” paintings and drawings. These surrealist artworks by Salvador Dalì influenced other Surrealists, pop art and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.

Surrealists aim to bring positive expression by defying reason. According to the major spokesman of the movement, Andre Breton, surrealism is a means of reuniting conscious and unconscious realms of experience. Dalì was a surrealist and brought the world of dream and fantasy together in his variety of work from literary to digital.

Dalì went to school in Madrid and got his degree in fine arts. He was influenced by impressionism and Renaissance masters since he was young. Therefore, he became interested in Cubism and avant-garde movements in arts. His most famous artwork, the Persistence of Memory is one of the most famous surrealist paintings in the world today.

Salvador Dalì: Clocks, Elephants, Ants

You might know the famous Salvador Dalì elephants, distinctly unproportionate and fascinating, with long skinny legs. Or maybe you have seen Salvador Dalì clocks that are melting over some objects in his artworks. Salvador Dalì is a master and a world-known character, both with his paintings and with his eccentric mustache.

An icon of Surrealism, with amazing artworks, Salvador Dalì plays with the matter of the subjects of his paintings. 

According to Dalì, he destroys reality in order to “systematize confusion and thus to help discredit completely the world of reality.” but keeping a tint of realism in his work with easily recognizable objects. He is dancing on a thin line between reality and the dreamworld caused by confusion and creativity.

The Persistence of Memory - Salvador Dalì

His the Persistence of Memory is without a doubt his most known work. With hard objects inexplicably melting down, losing their purpose on a dreamscape with ants attracted by a piece of metal. 

Salvador Dalì the Persistence of Memory is his masterpiece and it is one of the most famous artworks amongst the surrealists. The painting has everyday objects unlike how we see them in the real world from the creative eyes of Salvador Dalì. Melting clocks, that are supposed to be realistic and solid objects, are melting in an odd landscape. He combines real and imaginary achieving the dreamy effect of Surrealism. The clocks, and the tree are all painted realistically, however, they are not in their realistic forms but liquid forms. 

Furthermore, the coast and the cliffs we see in the distance are from Dalì’s home, Catalonia. Thus, making it a dream-like scenario with some personalized touches. Seeing a big cliff and a coast that far adds to this infinite and unreal feeling of the setting. There is nothing on the landscape other than some specific and distant subjects, or landscapes.

The ants, in Salvador Dalì’s paintings, have significance too. They represent decay. The metal we see in the painting is a clock, and they are attacking it as if it is a piece of meat. Every little dreamy object in his world has a story or a symbolic meaning to it. 

Salvador Dalì Art and Artworks for Sale 

Discover more about Salvador Dalì Art Price on Deodato Arte - Buy Now from the master of surrealism. Look at Salvador Dalì Lithograph Prices, Drawings, Artwork Salvador Dalì.

To preview which Salvador Dalì works will be on display at Deodato Arte Gallery and to receive photos and information, contact us by sending an e-mail to [email protected].