The Style of Dali
Salvador Dali was born in Spain, the northern village called Figueras. Many years before he would reach the fame and the popularity that now has his paintings hanging in museums and five star Hotels, Spain and his instructors knew that he was destined to it. He started drawing at the age of ten, and it became evident after his first lesson, that he was born with a special gift. Many of his first art teachers were extremely well known artists, one particularly influential was Ramon Pichot. When Dali was 19 years old his father bought him a print machine. Soon afterward Dali entered Madrid’s Royal Academy of Art. He never finished his studies at the academy however. After getting expelled two times, he left without taking the final exams. He stated that those giving the exams were not as qualified as he was, so he quit.
He soon left for Paris, and in 1928 he became friends with fellow painters from Spain, Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso. The collection of these surrealist painters studied and painted along side Andre Breton, a well known figure in the school of Surrealism. Although Dali and Breton spent many months painting together, Breton eventually ended their friendship his reasons being that Dali had become greedy financially, was extremely egotistical, and had fascist political views.
Dali had been studying the works of the old masters for years, particularly fond of the paintings of Rapheal, a Renaissance painter from Italy. He is known for his painterly craftsmanship, even though his subject matter and style is so different, much in the way he lays the paint down on the canvas is due to this study and admiration of the old masters. He soon developed his style that would eventually make him world famous. He based his paintings on the scenes from his dreams, and some of the images are a direct reflection of Sigmund Freud’s psychological theories.
Dali eventually left Europe in order to escape WWII and became a permanent citizen of the United States in 1940. He was well received by the city of Manhattan and the celebrities and the rich and famous of that city. His work continues to be collected and reproduced today, and is just as popular now as it was then.
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