Who was Salvador Dali?
Salvador Dalí was a Spanish Surrealist painter and printmaker known for exploring subconscious imagery. Arguably, his most famous painting is The Persistence of Memory (1931), depicting limp melting watches. Dalí also collaborated with director Luis Buñuel on the Surrealistic films.
His early life
Dali was born on May 11, 1904 in Figueras, Catalonia, Spain. From an early age, El Salvador was distinguished by his behavior and character. He painted his first picture at the age of ten. In 1921 he attended to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in San Fernando. The picture he submitted for admission is not accepted because it was small, but it is highly appreciated by experts. And they give Dali three days to present a new picture, but Salvador presents a smaller picture than the previous one. Nevertheless, Salvador is admitted to the academy for exceptional mastery. Studying in Madrid influenced the paintings he made in his early professional period, they were in a purely academic style. Later he befriended with Federico García Lorca and Luis Buñuel.
Dali and Art
His first exhibition took place in November 1925 in Barcelona. In those years he painted only sea paintings. In 1926 he was expelled from the academy for misconduct. That year he went to Paris for the first time, where he met Picasso and Breton, and that acquaintance became the beginning of his surrealist path. From 1929 he was completely immersed in that style. Dali’s most popular painting is Melting Watch.
His personal life
In 1929, Dali met and married Gala Eluard, which became the greatest inspiration of Dali’s later life. They registered their marriage in 1932 (the church ceremony took place 26 years later, in 1958). Pubol Castle, which Dali gave to his wife, Gala. Gala becomes the artist’s only female creator and creative inspiration. Gala herself took over her husband’s financial affairs and was able to force him to earn an income. In 1968, the artist went to the castle for Gala in the small town of Pubol, which he could visit only with the written permission of his wife.
His final years
Salvador Dali died in 1989 at a hospital in Figueras, Spain. He was 84. The cause of death was heart failure due to his respiratory failure and pneumonia, «said his personal physician, Dr. Carles Ponsati, on Monday. Dali was taken to hospital five days ago for the third time since late November because of heart problems.
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