Virtual Art Tour

Salvador Dali, Spanish, 1904-1989

Lincoln in Dalivision

Salvador Dalí stated, “I am a genius who also paints.” This statement has rung true to many regarding Dalí’s talents. For not only was he a painter, but he was a movie maker, photographer, sculptor, watercolorist, philosopher, poet, essayist, author, draftsmen of etchings, lithographs and book illustrations, set designer for operas and ballets, and creator of designs for clothes, furniture, jewelry and playing cards. All of these undertakings were wrought by Dalí’s genius. His work encompassed several different art periods and styles, including realism, impressionism, cubism and surrealism. Yet, Dalí established his own unique style based on contrasts, painting dream-like visions in a precise super-real style. He used contemporary references in his art and embellished it with memories from his early life and his life with his wife, Gala.

During his surrealist period, Dali was deeply influenced by Freudian psychology. But, by 1941, he moved on from surrealism to what he termed “classicism,” inspired by the renaissance. He developed the concept of “nuclear mysticism,” combining Catholic symbolism with ideas derived from modern science. His compositions presented scenes with elements breaking apart, suggesting nuclear particles in motion.

Dali was born in Figueres, a village in the Catalan region of Spain. He loved his homeland and spent most of his years in Figueres and in the nearby Mediterranean villages of Cadaques and Port Lligat, where he built his Villa. Dalí believed the landscape from this village to be the most beautiful on earth and it was to become the common denominator in his work, always apparent beneath the variety of themes superimposed upon it. Dalí achieved international fame for his work and his artwork hangs in most of the modern art museums throughout the world, including the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL.