Salvador Dalí is a name that is known around the world, especially among art lovers. Known for his surrealist and often bizarre imagery, Dalí’s work has had a long-lasting impact on surrealists across the globe. His face and the signature flamboyant mustache are a popular Spanish image.
His work tackled several important and poignant themes like sexuality, religion, and science among other things. To fully appreciate his work, one needs to take a deep dive into his early life, and career as well as his demise. So let’s find out who he was and what he did.
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Life And Career Of Salvador Dalí
Born on May 11 1904 in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, Salvador Dalí‘s father was a middle-class lawyer and notary. His mother Felipa Domènech Ferrés was a homemaker. His older brother, who was named Salvador, died of gastroenteritis just nine months before him.
Throughout his life, Dali would get dreams of his dead brother. He received his formal education in Madrid and in 1929, joined the Surrealist group after getting inspired by the avant-garde movement.
The young artist published one of his most famous paintings titled ‘The Persistence of Memory’ in 1931. In 1940, he shifted to the United States and achieved further success. He returned to Spain eight years later.
His work credit includes different art forms like painting, film, graphic art, sculpture, and photography. Apart from being an artist, Dali was also a writer and published several essays, poetries, and fiction.
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Dali Was Known More For His Behavior Than His Art
Dali explored various themes through his work that were deemed controversial. His work and his personality polarized everyone; while some loved him, others hated him with great measures.
He was accused of being sympathetic toward Adolf Hitler during World War II. Throughout his life, Dali’s personality was labeled eccentric and ostentatious by many. There are many instances where he publicly hit people with objects in rage.
On January 23, 1989, he passed away at the age of 84 due to cardiac arrest. In 2017, a court ordered the exhumation of his body over a paternity lawsuit. His DNA samples were taken and it was concluded that Dali was not related to the claimant.
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