Salvador Dali was a famous Spanish painter, sculptor, draughtsman, designer, film-maker and even writer. He was born on 11th May 1904 in Figueras in Catalonia. Salvador's father was an atheist, whereas his mother was a pious Catholic. Salvador's older brother had died a couple months before his birth. The painter is said to wear long moustache (they probably were kept to beat Nietzsche) and other eccentric costumes. Moreover he shocked with his speeches.
Since he was young he presented eccentricity in his artworks. He was very talented, he stated painting at the age of six. In 1921 he started studies at the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid. However, he was suspended in 1924 for his insubordination. Then in 1926 Dali was expelled form the University for his blatant behaviour. He refused to take the examinations, because he thought that the teachers weren't as qualified to judge him. At that time his artworks had attracted the great attention in students' exhibitions. Moreover, he had already presented his works at the Galeria Dalmau in Barcelona in 1925.
His first works Dali was a kind of experiments with Cubism. Since 1929 he was creating in the Surrealist style. At that time he created his first movie called "Un Chien Andalou". It seemed to be a shocking and very horrifying movie. It is said that people were fainting during the projections. In 1929 he had the other exhibition at Galerie Camille Goemans in Paris and each of his work was sold. The Surrealists loved all his things he had been creating and soon he became their formal member.
He painted his most famous pictures during the 1930s. Dali used the realistic and detailed technique to make the bizarrely scenes created in his imagination or as he said "hand-painted dream photographs". To them we can include the most famous Surrealist pictures such as "The Persistence of Memory" painted in 1931. This picture presents the melting watches in the amazing landscape. Some double images seen in his paintings with the various interpretations which are made from the single shapes' set, that he called "the paranoiac-critical method", were Dali's the best contributions to the Surrealism style. He was present in the most important shows of Surrealist group including the International Surrealist Exhibition in London in 1936. During that event he made his most outrageous stunt in public. He gave the lecture wearing the driver's suit. Then his helmet was stuck and Dali almost suffocated.
Together with other Surrealists Dali had the arguments with André Breton - the founder of the Surrealism style. After that in 1939 they officially expelled him from the Surrealist movement. However, Dali didn't stop saying: "Surrealism is me!". At that time Dali changed his style a little bit. They works became more naturalistic. He was under the influence of Renaissance art, that he saw during his visits in Italy. In 1940 he decided to leave Europe, where World War II began. He lived in the United States till 1948. He used to paint and design. He designed the famous dream sequence in Alfred Hitchcock's movie "Spellbound" from 1945. This scene brought Dali a great financial success. Then in 1942 Dali published his colorful autobiography called "The Secret Life of Salvador Dali". The second part of them was published in 1964 and was entitled "Diary of a Genius".
After the war Dali decided to return to Spain. He stayed in Port Lligat, the town near his birthplace. However, he many times visited Paris and New York. His works are strongly sexual. He also managed to paint some religious works and the most famous of them is "Christ of Saint John of the Cross" painted in 1951. The picture was sold by Glasgow City Gallery in 1952. It was extremely controversial deal, because of the sensationalism and the excessive high price (about 8200 pounds). This picture was often reproduced and became one of his famous works. It was also criticized and Dali was accused of the vulgar showmanship. His other religious works are: "Crucifixion" painted in 1954 and "The Sacrament of the Last Supper" painted in 1955.
Old Dali was lonely, but he remained the scandalous person until his death. Dali died in Figueras on 25th January 1989. He was 84 years old. There are also two famous museums in the world dedicated to his talents and works: the Teatre-Museu Dali, set up in Figueras in 1974 and the Salvador Dali Museum in St Petersburg in Ohio found in 1982.
