Salvador_Dali

Salvador Dali (Artist) The second son of a middle class lawyer and notary, Salvador Dali was born on May 11, 1904 in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain. Dali had an older brother and months before Dali’s birth, his older brother was a victim of gastroenteritis causing his death. Dali believed that he was his brother’s reincarnation as a result of his father’s constant faith. Salvador Dali discovered his fascination for modern painting while he attended drawing school. With the help of his father, he had his first exhibition of his charcoal drawings in his family. Three years later, his mother, who encouraged her son artistic endeavors, was a victim of breast cancer causing her death. This encouraged Salvador Dali to leave Catalonia and move to Madrid and studied at a school of fine arts called Academia de San Fernando. Dali Started to get attention as an eccentric and dandy because of the way his physical appearance looked. He became good friends with poet Federico Garcia Lorca that developed something special between them. Carles Fages de Climent, gave Dali the opportunity for his first book illustration, this included his schoolmate poem "Les bruixes de Llers”. While attending school, Dali believed that no one was good enough examine him causing his expulsion from the school of arts. He developed his painting skills and were shown on the Basket of Bread, which was one of his first paintings and made him travel to Paris for the first time to meet with artist Pablo Picasso, who Dali admired, and had favorable recommendations from Joan Miro. Many of Dali’s works are influenced by these two artists. Dali was easily identified by his long mustache that became his iconic trademark of his physical appearance and it was inspired by Diego Velazquez’s seventeenth century master piece. In 1929, Dali became part of the surrealism group in the Montparnasse in Paris, making his first collaboration on Luis Buñuel’s short film Un Chien Andalo. Dali was part of the writing of the script for that particular short film. Later that year, Dali met who was going to be his wife, Elena Ivanovna Diakonova best known as Gala who was Paul Eluard’s wife. His father disapproved many things that Salvador Dali had done in his life; one of them was the relationship he established with Gala and being a member of the surrealist group making he believed that it was not a good influence for him. After his broken relationship with his father and his marriage with Gala, Dali came out with the finest works of art which led him to an exhibition in New York where the painting The Persistence of Memory became a great success. Short after that, the consequences of Dali’s denial to accuse fascism led him to be expelled of the surrealist group having the opportunity to meet with Edward James. James gave Dali economically support and collaborated in several of Dali’s art pieces: The Lobster Telephone and Mae West Lips Sofa. After several years, Dali returned to Catalonia in Spain. His paintings were included in several surrealistic art exhibitions. His latest works were practicing bulletist works where he included optical illusion in several of them. After his experience with optical illusions, he became interested in religion and science. He made this combination in several of his works such as The Madonna of Port-Lligat and Corpus Hypercubus. His latest works include TV advertisements such as one for Lanvin Chocolates and the creation of the logo for the Chupa Chups lollipops. Dali was seriously affected by unprescribed medicines that affected him in all of his nervous system. Short after that, in 1982 his wife Gala died. Her death affected him in a way that he attempted suicide several times but unfortunately for him he could not accomplish. But it is not until 1989 at age 84, that Dali joins his beloved Gala losing his life to heart failure. He is buried in a crypt in Teatro Museo in Figueres, Catalonia in his beloved Spain. His paintings became a great success because of particular images on them that have a special meaning to him and repeat in several paintings. Such images include insects; he represents ants as death and decay and locusts as a symbol of waste and fear. He also represents fertility in several of his works as an egg. He made several contributions in fashion, photography, theatre, films, and several other works. Works Cited “Salvador Dali.” Wikipedia. 16 Apr. 2010. 1-