Salvador Dalí (1)

Salvador Dalí was a prominent Spanish surrealist painter. He was a groundbreaking icon of the Surrealist movement and one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. His work probed the unconscious world of thoughts, dreams and perception in fanciful and nightmarish images influenced by Freud, Cubism, Futurism and metaphysical art. Extraordinarily imaginative, he also sculpted, and contributed to fashion, photography and theater. Dalí's art has been called the epitome of Surrealism.

Woman At the Window (1926)

   Dali sought a change in his life after the meeting with the Surrealists in 1928 in Paris and he knew that this change was not going to occur in Catalonia. However, the Surrealists saw in Dali the future of the movement, because he was armed with an exceptionally rich imaginary baggage. This baggage was a result of his erotic desires for women and his undying interest in the concept of the unconsciousness devised by Sigmund Freud. His precise style enhanced the nightmare effect of his paintings. By 1929 he had become a leader of surrealism.

   As his style matured, Dali’s works became more and more affected by the concept of psychoanalysis devised by Freud. Dali’s works were increasingly shaped into dreamlike illustrations.Dreams consisted of a large segment of his life, because he would take siestas, or midday rests, in which he encounters more and more dreams. He considered the siesta as a state that is achieved at the moment that one forgets about one’s body or in psychoanalysis the state of the unconscious. Yet, his dreamlike style was combined with his sexual desires to give a variety of works with different themes.

The Madonna of Port Lligat (1949)

  In 1934, Dali was accused of showing an interest in the fascist movement led by Hitler and as a result he was kicked out of the Surrealist group in Paris. This did not affect Dali’s art or life because by that time he was well known worldwide for his special style. The main advancement in Dali’s style was the production of religious works. The most famous and also the first of all of his religious works was The Madonna of Port Lligat, in which he arranged the picture around a piece of bread that is visible through a hole in Jesus’ body. Here the influence of Gala was also seen, because he incorporated her into the picture as the Virgin and as angels.

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