Who Was Salvador Dali? The Genius of Ingenuity
Who was Salvador Dalí?
Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech was born in Figueras, in the province of Gerona, Spain, on May the 11th ,1904, and died in the same town as a result of cardiorespiratory arrest on January the 23th, 1989 at the age of 84 years old. He is buried in the Dalí Theatre-Museum.
On this occasion, we present the Dalí portrait puzzle, one of our puzzles of famous paintings from the art jigsaw puzzles collection. We suggest you assemble it and enjoy it, now that the cold weather is setting in.
Where did Dalí spend his life?
Dalí spent his life between Figueras, Madrid, Paris and New York, although he always spent his summers in Cadaqués whenever he could. He grew up in a middle-class family, his father was a lawyer and notary.
He married Gala Éluard in 1932 and was widowed fifty years later, in 1982.
In 1922 he moved to Madrid, to the Residencia de Estudiantes, to begin his studies at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando between 1922 and 1926, when he was expelled because he claimed that no one was in a position to examine him. He was a painter, draughtsman, sculptor, engraver, set designer and writer and was active practically all his life, between 1922 and 1988.
His mother died when he was 16, which marked him deeply. Shortly afterwards, his father married his wife's sister, a fact that Dalí never approved of.
The maximum representative of surrealism
Dalí was the most representative of the surrealist style, extremely imaginative and obsessed with attracting public attention. He was a lover of gilt, luxury and oriental fashion. He was also attracted to Cubism and Dadaism.
He met Lorca and Picasso in Paris and ended up absorbing influences from various styles, including Raphael, Bronzino, Zurbarán and of course, Velázquez, alternating traditional and contemporary techniques in his works. At that time, Dalí grew his famous moustache, which marked ten past ten, imitating that of the painter Velázquez. A symbol that is reflected in the Dalí Puzzle, one of our puzzles of famous artists.
Later, Dalí collaborated with the film director Luis Buñuel and in August 1929 he met the woman who was to become his wife Gala, Elena Ivanovna, of Russian origin and eleven years older than him.
Dalí´s international stage
The international stage of Salvador Dalí began when he moved to Paris and joined the surrealist group located in the Montparnasse area, where he married Gala in 1934, and they were to marry again fourteen years later, this time in the Catholic rite.
He exhibited in Paris, New York and London. Dalí and Gala moved to New York in 1940 and lived there for eight years. There he worked as a decorator in a department store on Fifth Avenue. He also worked as an illustrator. Dalí's image became increasingly extravagant and obsessive.
In 1948 Dalí and Gala moved back to Catalonia, opening a new artistic stage in his life, characterised by optical illusions and virtuosity. In 1969 he designed the Chupa Chups logo and was creatively responsible for the Eurovision advertising campaign.
About Dalí´s health
Dalí´s healt came deteriorated from 1980 onwards, and he suffered severely from Parkinson's disease. In 1982, King Juan Carlos I awarded him the title of Marquis of Dalí de Púbol. Shortly afterwards, in the same year, Gala died, and from then on Dalí's great decline began, as he lost his will to live. Salvador Dalí died in 1989 at the age of 84 years old and was buried, embalmed as he wished, in Figueras.
He left his estate to the state and has streets and squares named Salvador Dalí in many places in Spain, except in Barcelona. Today, the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation is responsible for the management of his legacy.
In summary, some of his important works were paintings, such as "La Persistencia de la Memoria" or Relojes Blandos from 1931, "Cristo de San Juan de la Cruz" from 1951 or "Construcción Blanda con Judías Hervidas" from 1936.
Sculptures, contributions to theatre and fashion, jewellery design, such as The Royal Heart, made of gold, rubies, diamonds and emeralds.
In 1927 he designed the set design for the play "Mariana Pineda" by Lorca and "El Sombrero de los Tres Picos". He also designed a “falla” and became interested in cinema, as a scriptwriter for films directed by Luis Buñuel and worked with Alfred Hitchcock. He also collaborated in fashion with Christian Dior and created his own designs and perfumes.
As for architecture, he designed his house in Portlligat, near Cadaqués. As for literature, Dalí wrote his autobiography "La Vida Secreta de Salvador Dali3" in 1942, among others.
In total, Dalí produced around 2000 works, including paintings, illustrations, designs and sculptures.
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