Throughout the course of history, very few artists have established the immense popularity and widespread appeal that Salvador Dalí has. His images are instantly recognizable, and continue to provoke a response across the world. His work transcends time, constantly appealing to new generations internationally. The stimulating and disquieting, yet inherently captivating nature of his work is truly revolutionary and unforgettable. 



After joining the Surrealist movement in 1929, Dalí began to explore the infinite realm of the subconscious. He believed art could (and should) be intensely personal—a natural extension of the artist’s inner world. There should be no social construct or calculated technique involved. So Dalí portrayed images with which the mind was familiar—people, animals, buildings, landscapes—but he allowed them to come together without conscious direction. What transpired was the artistic interpretation of a deeply troubled soul. The paintings are often gruesome and grotesque. Some revealed Dalí’s own complex issues with sexuality, and his relationship with his parents. Others displayed a troubling obsession with castration. However, despite such disconcerting and controversial content, he went on to create some of the most well-known works of art in the twentieth century, including The Persistence of Memory, Crucifixion, Metamorphosis of Narcissus, and Sleep. 

Dalí’s revelations gave him three things: they allowed for new themes in painting, they allowed him to explore his own personal complexities, and they were an artistic means of demolishing traditional order. His nightmarish images stimulate the imagination with extraordinary power. However, Dalí’s eccentricity was not completely detached from the traditional and formal styles of past art. Rather, Dalí praised Renaissance ideals, and merged its techniques and styles with his own understanding of psychology and humanity to produce a synthesis of both traditional and modern imagery. His vast range extended into all fields of the visual arts—painting, sculpture, graphics, book illustration, and jewelry. Regardless of the medium, Dalí was solely concerned with the idea he was trying to convey to the viewer, and in doing so, he ultimately became the most prominent figure associated with the Surrealist movement of the twentieth century.