114 years ago the genius of Surrealism was born.... Artist? Genius? Designer? Sculptor? Scenographer? Eccentric?
Born on 11 May 1904 in the Spanish town of Figueres, Catalonia, Dalí would have been 114 years old this week.
Critics have assessed his paintings, art historians have analyzed his personality and, even today, more than a century later, Salvador Dalí is still an ‘open book’; with his swirly moustache an unmistaken eccentric personality... he remains an icon of twentieth century art.
Dalí was a man of stunning original intelligence, possessing an unbridled creative imagination, a conversation with him would be liberally sprinkled with enlightened flashes of wisdom.
He possessed boundless knowledge, and gave free rein to his pleasure in expressing himself in a surrealistic manner. He had extraordinary vocabulary plus a gift for self-mockery. Despite these apparently positive attributes, Dalì could be unpredictable, turbulent, brooding, and instantly irritable.
Above all, Dalí was a painter and a sculptor. Beniamino Levi, President of the Dalí Universe, encouraged Dalí to sculpt, which became the key to the creation of the Dalí Universe sculpture collection as it is known today.
Dalí has been in the news recently in France; last month saw the renovation and reopening of the permanent museum ‘Dalí Paris’, which first opened in 1990.
Dalí is still very much present on the cultural scene; Erarta Museum in St Petersburg Russia has a dedicated exhibition to Dalí sculpture at the end of May.
Dalí ’s hometown Cadaques is the venue for a short film festival in mid-June, featuring the silent surrealistic film ‘ Un Chien Andalou’ created in 1929 by Luis Bunuel and Dalí .
Twenty nine years after his death Dalí continues to invigorate, inspire and attract audiences, all over the globe.
