Painter, sculptor, writer, filmmaker, and all-round showman Salvador Dali (1904-1989) was one of the 20th century's greatest exhibitionists and eccentrics. One of the first artists to apply the insights of Freudian psychoanalysis to art, he is celebrated in particular for his surrealist practice, with such conceits as the soft watches or the lobster telephone, now hallmarks of the surrealist enterprise, and of modernism in general.

Dali frequently described his paintings as "hand-painted dream photographs." Their tantalizing tension and interest resides in the precise rendering of bizarre elements and incongruous arrangements. As Dali himself explained, he painted with "the most imperialist fury of precision," but only "to systematize confusion and thus to help discredit completely the world of reality."

Revolutionizing the role of the artist, the mustache-twirling Dali also had the intuition to parade a controversial persona in the public arena and, through printmaking, fashion, advertising, writing, and film, to create work that could be consumed and not just contemplated on a gallery wall.

This book explores both the painting and the personality of Dali, introducing his technical skill as well as his provocative compositions and challenging themes of death, decay, and eroticism.

About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features: A detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance. A concise biography. Approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions.

About the Author
Gilles Neret (1933-2005) was an art historian, journalist, writer, and museum correspondent. He organized several art retrospectives in Japan and founded the SEIBU Museum and the Wildenstein Gallery in Tokyo. He directed art reviews such as L'OEil and Connaissance des Arts and received the Elie Faure Prize in 1981 for his publications. His TASCHEN titles include Salvador Dali: The Paintings, Matisse, and Erotica Universalis.


Book Information
ISBN 9783836560009
Author Gilles Neret
Format Hardback
Page Count 96
Imprint Taschen GmbH
Publisher Taschen GmbH
Weight(grams) 616g