In the popular imagination, possibly no other artist’s work is more recognizable than that of Salvador Dalí. Indeed, for many he is the ultimate mad artist, whose singular vision remorselessly probed his own psychological depths. His nightmarish visions and bizarre landscapes express the angst and turbulence of the twentieth century. Dalí’s creativity embraced many different modes of expression and was never constrained by any one style. Over eight decades, the prodigious range of Dalí’s activity spanned every conceivable medium, from painting and drawing to sculpture, film, furniture, books, stage design and jewelry, not to mention his highly eccentric public persona, which could be considered an art form in itself.
Salvador Dalí at Home explores the influence of Catalan culture and tradition, Dalí's home life and the places he lived, on his life and work. Fully illustrated with over 130 illustrations of his famous work, as well as lesser known pieces, archive imagery, contemporary landscapes and personal photographs, the book provides uniquely accessible insight into the people and places that shaped this iconic artist and how the homes and landscapes of his life relate to his work.
Sensible artistic advice and lively personal anecdotes in rare important work by famed Surrealist. Filled with Dali's outrageous egotism and unconventional humor, insights into modern art and his own drawings in the margins.
An extraordinary memoir of fortune, fraud, and the master of modern art Art dealer Stan Lauryssens made millions in modern art, but he sold only one name: Salvador Dalí. The surrealist painter's work was a hot commodity for the newly rich, investors, and shady businessmen looking to launder their black-market cash. Stan didn't mind looking the other way; he just hoped the buyers would look the other way as well. The artworks he sold came from some very questionable sources, but he soon discovered that the shadiest source of all was Dalí himself. The more successful Stan became, the closer he came to Dalí, until he found himself living next door to the aging artist, in the Catalonian hills. While hiding from Interpol's detectives, Stan spent his time with the artists, musicians, business associates, and eccentrics who surrounded Dalí. He learned about Dalí's secret history, the studio of artists who produced his work, and the moneymaking machine that kept Dalí's extravagant lifestyle afloat long after his creativity began to flounder. Dalí & I offers a behind-the-scenes view of the commerce and conspiracy that go hand in hand in the international art world, written by a man who has been to the top only to discover that it's not so different from the bottom.
The Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, houses the most comprehensive collection in the world of the art of Salvador Dali (1904-1989), the renowned Surrealist painter. From the Museum's extensive holdings, forty masterpieces have been selected for this volume by the art historian Kenneth Wach. All forty are reproduced in color, as full-page plates. For each, Mr. Wach has written an illuminating commentary, discussing both the works' style, in art-historical terms, and their often complex psychological content. In addition, the book's general introduction provides a broad overview of Dali's flamboyant career as an artist. It traces the course of Dali's development from his first childhood efforts in Catalonia to his participation in the Surrealist movement in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, to his sojourn in the United States during World War II and his late works executed in Spain. Among the famous images included here are luminous still lifes from Dali's youth, which show his debts to the Old Masters. There are also a number of his remarkable Surrealist beach scenes, with their mysterious vistas and obsessive sexuality. Several troubled depictions of the distorted human body, dating from the difficult period of the Spanish Civil War and World War II, culminate in the expectant Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man. The volume features as well some prime examples of Dali's later "nuclear mysticism," where traditional religious iconography is joined with motifs taken from modern physics. Notable among the later works is The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, a radical reinterpretation of his celebrated earlier painting with limp watches, now reconceived in terms of Albert Einstein's theories of space and time. In scale, the works reproduced as colorplates range from Dali's epic, mural-size canvas The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus to a small, subtly rendered for his Christ of St. John of the Cross. Also illustrated, in black and white, is a representative selection of Dali's drawings, demonstrating his consistently fine draftsmanship through all the phases of his career. A brief preface on the history of the Salvador Dali Museum, a detailed chronology of the artist's life, a bibliography, and an index complete the volume.
This extensive volume uncovers Dali’s influences, artistic development, and legacy, offering unprecedented access inside the world of the man behind the mustache. Through astute analysis of Dali’s work and how the events of his time converged with his drive to become a legend, this volume examines one of the most significant contributors to twentieth-century art. Although recognized primarily as a painter, Dali experimented with a wide range of media. This comprehensive review includes the literature, photography, film, and sculpture that influenced and was created by Dali throughout his career, from paintings such as The Persistence of Memory, to the icons of the surrealist movement such as the Mae West Lips Sofa and the Lobster Telephone, to short film collaborations with Luis Buñuel. The author offers insight into this undisputed genius, charting Dali’s progression as an artist and controversial public figure, and demonstrating his influence on contemporary artists such as Warhol, Koons, and Murakami.
Salvador Dali is perhaps the most universally famous and popular twentieth-century artist. What accounts for this popularity? Is it his excellence as an artist? The accessibility of his imagery? Or his genius as a self-publicist? In a searching text, completely revised and updated in this edition to incorporate new information that has come to light since Dali's death in 1989, Dawn Ades considers some of the puzzling questions raised by the Dali phenomenon. His early years, the development of his technique and style, his relationship with the Surrealists, his exploitation of Freudian ideas, and the image which Dali created of himself as the mad genius artist are all explored in this brilliant and thought provoking study.
