Dalí << DAH lee or dah LEE >>, Salvador (1904-1989), was a famous Surrealist painter. His unusual pictures made him one of the most publicized figures in modern art.
Dalí called his Surrealist paintings “hand-painted dream photographs.” The pictures show strange, often nightmarish combinations of precisely detailed figures and objects. Many of his paintings have violent or sexual associations or both. The barren landscapes and fantastic rock formations of the Spanish region of Catalonia, where Dalí was born, appear in a number of his works. Dalí’s Persistence of Memory illustrates his realistic technique and his use of complicated, puzzling symbols. Dalí also created many etchings and lithographs. He designed many of these prints to illustrate books.
Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí was born on May 11, 1904, in Figueras, Spain. He was also a sculptor and jewelry designer. Dalí worked with the Spanish film director Luis Buñuel on two Surrealist motion pictures—An Andalusian Dog (1929) and The Golden Age (1930). Dalí died on Jan. 25, 1989.
