Salvador Dali was born in Figueres (Spain) in 1904. His father was  strict, but his mother encouraged Salvador’s love for art. He had a sister named Ana Maria who modelled for his paintings.

Salvador began drawing and painting when he was still young. When he turned seventeen, he moved to Madrid, Spain to study at the Academy of Fine Arts.

Dali lived a bohemian life when he was studying  at the academy. He grew his hair and had long sideburns. When he was close to graduation, he was expelled for having problems with the teachers. (He was supposed to said there was not teacher good enough to grade his exams).
Salvador  experimented with  different styles of art such as classic art, Cubism, Dadaism, and other avant-garde styles. Eventually he became interested in Surrealism through artists such as Rene Magritte and Joan Miró. Dalí became one of the preeminent artists of the Surrealist movement.

Surrealism w started France and was created by the poet Andre Breton in 1924. The word “surrealism” means “above realism”. Surrealists represented dreams and random thoughts. The movement involved cinema, poetry, music, and art. Surrealist paintings are often a mixture of strange objects and normal looking objects that are out of place, Surrealistic paintings can be shocking, interesting, beautiful, or weird.

Salvador Dali painted what would become his most famous painting in 1931,  and perhaps the most famous Surrealist painting. It is titled The Persistence of Memory. The scene is a normal looking desert landscape, but it is covered with melting watches.

Salvador Dali painted what would become his most famous painting in 1931,  and perhaps the most famous Surrealist painting. It is titled The Persistence of Memory. The scene is a normal looking desert landscape, but it is covered with melting watches.

Dali’s art had international fame. He married Gala and they moved to the United States in 1940. The Spanish Civil War took place in the late 1930’s and then World War II  in the early 1940’s. Dali painted pictures depicting the horrors of war.

After the war, Dali began to paint about religion. He had grown up in a Catholic family. One of his most famous paintings during this time was Christ of St. John of the Cross which he painted in 1951. In the picture the cross floats high in the sky. You look down from an extreme angle and see a lake with a boat and some fishermen. He also painted scientific subjects related with mathemathics, biology and physics.

Dalí also created objects for publicity as well as logos for different brands.

Dali is the most famous of the Surrealist artists. His ability to shock and entertain made his paintings popular to many people. Many of today’s artists have been inspired by Dali’s work.

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