Dali

by Ignacio Gómez de Liaño

From the 1920's to the present, Spanish artist Salvador Dalí has maintained a reputation as the master magician of contemporary art. His alien and nightmarish images stimulate the viewer's imagination with extraordinary power attracting each new generation by the force of his hallucinogenic inspirations.

This publication is a delight and a revelation for aficionados of Dalí and offers new insights into his art and life. For those approaching Dali's work for the first time, it provides a perfect introduction to the cosmos as it is seen and interpreted by this self-proclaimed master of the "Paranoic-Critical."

Dalí's art was and remains controversial. It has infuriated and enchanted both layman and art critic but it remains undeniably memorable. His painting of soft watches is one of the great icons of the twentieth century. Dalí's detractors label him as a money-mad charlatan while his advocates praise him as the greatest painter and draftsman since the days of the Renaissance. Dalí acknowledges and capitalizes on both viewpoints with equanimity.

Dalí's visual language is virtuosic and his range of imagery is protean. There is not one field in the visual arts that he has not explored painting, sculpture, graphics, book illustration, jewelry design, scenography. He is even acknowledged as an essayist and novelist.

His influence in all areas is staggering and the pages of this book explain his ever-fresh popularity with art lovers of all ages and all tastes. Whether the subject is inspired by Freud or the Bible, alchemy or science, or from Classical mythology or nuclear physics, Dalí's art remains unforgettable. It is mystical. It is erotic. It is inspirational. It is obsessive and evocative.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Ha sido profesor en universidades de Madrid, Pekín y Osaka. Ha cultivado la novela, el ensayo, el teatro, la historia, el diario y la poesía, además de la filosofía, en numerosos libros, algunos traducidos a varias lenguas. Miembro fundador de la Cooperativa de Producción Artística y Artesana, participó como coordinador del Seminario de Generación Automática de Formas Plásticas del Centro de Cálculo. Algunos han considerado su producción como una referencia cultural dentro del panorama hispano actual.

Reviews

[Milena Knop · Rating 4 out of 5]

É um livro introdutório à vida e trabalhos de Dali, com comentários do autor nos apresentando ao artista. Quanto às pinturas, incluem tanto os trabalhos precoces de Dali, até aqueles que caracterizaram as produções típica do artista, surrealistas.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The essay at the beginning of the book comments on the themes and techniques in the work of the mustachioed surrealist. The book includes more than a hundred reproductions of the artists work (most of them in color). The main difference between this book and other books of Dali’s work is that here there are very few images of melting clocks. There are early portraits; some cubist work; a number of paintings employing the theme of the Angelus of Millet; abstract forms supported on crutches; portraits of Dali’s wife Gala; and the late religiously-themed works.