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Through his art, filled with deviant and thought-provoking abstract images, Salvador Dali has made his mark in the world as being one of the most famous Surrealists. Surrealism is a 20th century movement dealing with the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery. (Mishka 2001) His art is popular with modern society as well as art enthusiasts. His paintings explore the connection between fantasy and reality, stemming from the subconscious mind. Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dali was born in Figueres, Spain, in the Catalonia district, 1904. Catalans are said to be energetic, creative, and interested in making money. (Etherington-Smith 1992) Dali possessed at least two of these attributes. His energy was not shown as physical in a sense; rather it was displayed in the stroke of his brush, in tune with his creative subconscious mind. One of the reasons Dali’s works were so eccentric stems from his early childhood. It is said that Salvador Dali was born twice. The first was born in 1901, but died on August 1, 1903. His father, also called Salvador Dali, couldn’t come to terms with his firstborn’s death, so he named his second born Salvador Dali as well. His parents talked about his dead brother often. (Rojas 1993) This fixation on their dead son had a long lasting effect on Salvador Dali himself. Dali said “All the eccentricities which I commit, all the incoherent displays are the tragic fixity of my life. I wish to prove to myself that I am not the dead brother, but the living one.” Dali felt he was only half himself for a period of time through his father’s eyes, his other half being his elder brother. (Etherington-Smith 1992) Dali’s greatest influence was Roman Pitxot. Pitxot was a central figure in Barcelona-Paris who was close friends with Pablo Picasso. Dali’s father was a notary, also an influential figure in the district. He started his practice with the business of the Pitxot estates. The Pitxots persuaded Dali’s father to encourage his son in art after realizing the talent he had. The Pitxot family was able to show Dali a larger world of culture in art, music and literature. Without their help, who knows whether Dali would have recognized his remarkable gift. (Etherington-Smith 1992) Salvador Dali was not the most social kind of person. He painted in solitude, and during a period in his life he painted as soon as he awoke until lunchtime. Dali used the interaction with everyday people in his own work. He once said “I regarded most of the people I met solely and exclusively as creatures I could use as porters in my voyages of ambition.” (Etherington-Smith 1992) This outlook on life helped tie the subject of his paintings to the fantasy of his mind.
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