Without exaggeration, Salvador Dali can be called the most famous surrealist of the 20th century, because his name is familiar even to those who are completely far from painting. Some people consider him the greatest genius, others - a madman. But both the first and second unconditionally recognize the artist’s unique talent. His paintings are an irrational combination of real objects deformed in a paradoxical way. Dali was a hero of his time: the master’s work was discussed both in the highest circles of society and among the proletarians. He became a true embodiment of surrealism with the freedom of spirit, inconsistency and shockingness inherent in this painting movement. Today, anyone can access masterpieces created by Salvador Dali. The paintings, photos of which can be seen in this article, are capable of impressing every fan of surrealism.
The role of Gala in Dali's work
Huge creative heritage left behind by Salvador Dali. Paintings with titles that evoke mixed feelings among many today attract art lovers so much that they deserve detailed consideration and description. The artist’s inspiration, model, support and main fan was his wife Gala (an emigrant from Russia. All his most famous paintings were written during the period of marriage with this woman.
The Hidden Meaning of "The Persistence of Memory"
When considering Salvador Dali, it is worth starting with his most recognizable work - “The Persistence of Memory” (sometimes called “Time”). The canvas was created in 1931. The artist was inspired to paint the masterpiece by his wife Gala. According to Dali himself, the idea for the painting arose from the sight of something melting under the sun's rays. What did the master want to say by depicting a soft clock on canvas against the backdrop of a landscape?
The three soft dials decorating the foreground of the picture are identified with subjective time, which flows freely and unevenly fills all available space. The number of hours is also symbolic, because the number 3 on this canvas indicates the past, present and future. The soft state of the objects indicates the relationship between space and time, which was always obvious to the artist. There is also a solid clock in the picture, depicted with the dial down. They symbolize objective time, the course of which goes against humanity.
Salvador Dali also depicted his self-portrait on this canvas. The painting “Time” contains in the foreground an incomprehensible spread object framed by eyelashes. It was in this image that the author painted himself sleeping. In a dream, a person releases his thoughts, which while awake he carefully hides from others. Everything that can be seen in the picture is Dali’s dream - the result of the triumph of the unconscious and the death of reality.
Ants crawling on the body of a solid watch symbolize decay and rotting. In the painting, insects are arranged in the form of a dial with arrows and indicate that objective time destroys itself. A fly sitting on a soft watch was a symbol of inspiration for the painter. Ancient Greek philosophers spent a lot of time surrounded by these “Mediterranean fairies” (this is what Dali called flies). The mirror visible in the picture on the left is evidence of the impermanence of time; it reflects both objective and subjective worlds. The egg in the background symbolizes life, the dry olive symbolizes forgotten ancient wisdom, and eternity.
“Giraffe on Fire”: interpretation of images
By studying the paintings of Salvador Dali with descriptions, you can study the artist’s work more deeply and better understand the subtext of his paintings. In 1937, the artist’s brush produced the work “Giraffe on Fire.” It was difficult period for Spain, since it began a little earlier. In addition, Europe found itself on the threshold of World War II, and Salvador Dali, like many progressive people of that time, felt its approach. Despite the fact that the master claimed that his “Giraffe on Fire” has nothing to do with the political events shaking the continent, the picture is thoroughly saturated with horror and anxiety.
In the foreground, Dali painted a woman standing in a pose of despair. Her hands and face are bloody, and it looks like their skin has been torn off. The woman looks helpless, she is unable to resist the impending danger. Behind her is a lady with a piece of meat in her hands (it is a symbol of self-destruction and death). Both figures stand on the ground thanks to thin supports. Dali often depicted them in his works to emphasize human weakness. The giraffe, after which the painting is named, is painted in the background. He is much smaller than the women, his upper body is on fire. Despite his small size, he is the main character of the canvas, embodying the monster bringing the apocalypse.
Analysis of "Premonitions of Civil War"
It was not only in this work that Salvador Dali expressed his premonition of war. Paintings with titles indicating its approach appeared by the artist more than once. A year before “Giraffe,” the artist painted “Soft Construction with Boiled Beans” (otherwise known as “Premonition” civil war"). The structure of human body parts, depicted in the center of the canvas, resembles the outlines of Spain on a map. The structure on top is too bulky, it hangs over the ground and can collapse at any moment. Beans are scattered below the building, which look completely out of place here, which only emphasizes the absurdity of the political events taking place in Spain in the second half of the 30s.
Description of "Faces of War"
“The Face of War” is another work left by the surrealist to his fans. The painting dates from 1940 - a time when Europe was engulfed in hostilities. The canvas depicts a human head with a face frozen in agony. She is surrounded on all sides by snakes, and instead of eyes and mouth she has countless skulls. It seems that the head is literally stuffed with death. The painting symbolizes the concentration camps that took the lives of millions of people.
Interpretation of "Dream"
“The Dream” is a painting by Salvador Dali, created by him in 1937. It depicts a huge sleeping head supported by eleven thin supports (exactly the same as those of the women in the painting “Giraffe on Fire”). Crutches are everywhere, they support the eyes, forehead, nose, lips. The person has no body, but has an unnaturally stretched back thin neck. The head represents sleep, and the crutches indicate support. As soon as each part of the face finds its support, the person collapses into the world of dreams. It's not just people who need support. If you look closely, in the left corner of the canvas you can see a small dog, whose body is also leaning on a crutch. You can also think of supports as threads that allow your head to float freely during sleep, but do not allow it to completely lift off the ground. The blue background of the canvas further emphasizes the detachment of what is happening on it from the rational world. The artist was sure that this is exactly what a dream looks like. The painting by Salvador Dali was included in his series of works “Paranoia and War”.
Images of Gala
Salvador Dali also painted his beloved wife. Paintings with the names “Angelus Gala”, “Madonna of Port Ligata” and many others directly or indirectly indicate the presence of Dyakonova in the plots of the works of the genius. For example, in “Galatea with Spheres” (1952), he depicted his life partner as a divine woman, whose face is visible through a large number of spheres. The wife of a genius hovers above real world in the upper ethereal layers. Became his muse the main character such paintings as “Galarina”, where she is depicted with her left breast exposed, “ Atomic Leda", in which Dali presented his naked wife in the form of the ruler of Sparta. Almost everything female images, present on the canvases, inspired the painter by his faithful wife.
Impression of the painter's work
Photos depicting paintings by Salvador Dali, high resolution allow you to study his work down to the smallest detail. The artist lived long life and left behind several hundred works. Each of them is unique and incomparable inner world, depicted by a genius named Salvador Dali. Pictures with names known to everyone since childhood can inspire, cause delight, bewilderment or even disgust, but not a single person will remain indifferent after viewing them.
TOpaintings by Salvador Dali
Salvador Dali is rightfully considered one of the most famous artists last century. His paintings, depicting an entire era in the spirit of surrealism, are of great artistic value.
In 1924, the young artist Salvador Dali drew portrait close friend Luis Bonuel. The Spanish film director is depicted as a concentrated man, whose heavy gaze is directed to the side.
The laconic background and dark tones enhance the serious atmosphere of the picture. This work painted in oils using a new technique, reflecting the artist's search for early period creativity. The master's individual style is manifested in the ability to combine the activity of form and psychological characteristics. Nowadays the canvas "Portrait of Luis Bonuel" stored at the Arts Center in Madrid .
The most famous work Dali is considered a painting "The Persistence of Memory", created in 1931. 
Working on landscape area of Port Ligata, the artist saw an unexpected continuation of the composition. The idea in Salvador’s head gave birth to the sight of cheese melting in the heat. So, against the backdrop of a rocky coast and a lonely olive tree, a “soft” watch appeared. The content of the canvas is filled symbolic images, reminiscent of the transience of time allotted to a person. In its own way, the work is a harbinger of the scientific and technological period in Dali’s work. Since 1934, the painting has been exhibited in the Museum contemporary art New York.
One of original creations genius –
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This work was painted in gouache on newsprint in 1935 and was dedicated to the famous American actress Mae West. The portrait of a woman is presented in the form of a room: the composition consists of hair-curtains, a nose-fireplace, eyes-pictures and a sofa in the shape of lips.
A similar creative solution exists not only on paper, but also as an installation at the Dali Museum in Figueres.
In 1936, Spain found itself on the threshold of civil war, when over Madrid
clouds were gathering. It was the alarming state of his homeland that prompted Salvador Dali to create the painting "Pliable structure with boiled beans". 
The composition is based on a monstrous structure made of parts of the human body, dominating the earth. The absurdity of the image, complemented by boiled beans scattered below, evokes a feeling of confusion and misunderstanding. Painting is in Art Museum Philadelphia.
Job « last supper» was painted in 1955 under the influence of Renaissance art, especially Leonardo da Vinci.
The plot is based on the biblical story of Jesus' last meal with his apostles on the eve of the crucifixion. A note of modernity is introduced by the appearance of a modernist interior and glass walls, and the optical play is based on the tangibility of the figures of the disciples and the transparency of the depicted Christ. The canvas is exhibited at the National Gallery in Washington.
His wife Gala had a huge influence on the master’s work. Despite the difficult relationship of this couple, Salvador Dali wrote huge amount paintings depicting his wife. In 1975 he created the greatest illusion “Naked Gala looking at the sea”. View of the artist's naked wife against the background seascape when viewed at a distance of 18 meters, turns into a portrait American President Abraham Lincoln.
Here the digital method was used for the first time. The painting is kept in Figueres.
The hand of Salvador Dali owns almost 1,500 works, of which only a portion are represented by paintings. The remaining works are book illustrations, sculptures, costumes, decorations and jewelry.
Salvador Dali - "Self-Portrait with Raphael's Neck."
Salvador Dali - “The rhinoceros figure of Fideev’s Illis.”
Salvador Dali - "Flesh on the Stones".
Salvador Dali - "In Search of the Fourth Dimension."
Salvador Dalí (1904 - 1989) was a Spanish artist who is best known for his work in Surrealism, an influential 20th century movement primarily in art and literature. The surrealist artist rejected the rational in art; and instead targeted the unconscious to unlock the power of imagination. Dali used extensive symbolism in his work. Recurring images in his paintings show elephants with fragile legs; ants, which were considered a symbol of decay and death; and the melting of the clock, perhaps symbolic for the non-linear human perception time. Dali's contribution to surrealism included the paranoid-critical method. Dali became the most influential surrealist artist; and perhaps the most famous artist twentieth century after Pablo Picasso.
In this article we are ready to present you the most famous paintings Salvador Dali with their description and photo.
A dream caused by a bee flying around a pomegranate, a second before waking up
Salvador Dali said that this work was intended to "express for the first time in images Freud's discovery of the typical dream with long story, the consequence of a momentary accident that causes a sleeping person to wake up.” This is shown by the sleeping figure of the artist's wife Gala Dali, floating over a rock. Next to her naked body, two drops of water, a pomegranate and a bee are also carried in the air. Gala's dream is caused by the buzzing of a bee and is depicted in the upper half of the canvas. In a sequence of images, grenades open to release a giant red fish, from whose mouth emerges two ferocious tigers along with a bayonet, which soon awakens Gala from her peaceful sleep. The elephant, a later recurring image in Dali's work, is a distorted version of "Elephant and Obelisk", a sculpture by the famous Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Giraffe on fire
The work "Giraffe on Fire" is considered as an expression of Salvador Dali's personal struggle with the civil war taking place in his home country. The canvas depicts two female figures with vague phallic forms protruding from their backs. The arms, forearms and face of the nearest figure are stripped down to the muscle tissue beneath the skin. Opposite, drawers open from the figure's left leg and chest. Salvador Dali was a great admirer of the famous neurologist Sigmund Freud, and some of Dali's paintings were influenced by Freudian theories. These open boxes can be attributed to Freud's psychoanalytic method and refer to the internal, subconscious within a person. The live image of a giraffe in the background was described by Dali as a "masculine space apocalyptic monster." He considered this a premonition of war.
The paranoid-critical method is a technique in surrealism developed by Salvador Dalí in the early 1930s. It was used by the artist to exploit his subconscious through systematic irrational thought and a self-induced paranoid state. Considering one of the main achievements of surrealism, Dali used it in several of his paintings, especially those related to optical illusions and other multiple images. According to Greek mythology, Narcissus, known for his beauty, fell in love with his reflection in the water. Dali's interpretation of the Greek myth, this painting shows Narcissus sitting in a pool and looking down. The Metamorphoses of Narcissus was created by Dalí during his paranoid-critical period and is one of his most famous works.
Swans reflected in elephants
Double images were an important part of Dali's paranoid-critical method. Like the Metamorphosis of Narcissus, this piece uses the reflection in the lake to create a double image. The three swans in front of the trees are reflected in the lake so that their necks become the elephants' elephants and the trees become the elephants' legs. The landscape contrasts with the silence of the lake as Dali painted swirl-like images to depict the background rocks and skies. Swans Reflecting Elephants is considered an iconic painting in surrealism as it increases the popularity of the double image style. This is the most famous double image created by Salvador Dali; his greatest masterpiece using the paranoid-critical method; and one of the most famous works in surrealism.
By the way, speaking about lakes, let us remind you that on our website there is a very interesting article with photographs about the amazing complex.
This painting was created by Salvador Dali towards the end of his famous career and is considered his last great masterpiece. He spent two summers creating artwork, in which, in addition to surrealism, he used such styles as: action painting, pop art, pointillism, geometric abstraction and psychedelic art. Including images ancient greek sculpture In modern cinema, the film Tuna Fishing depicts the brutal struggle between men and large fish, as the personification of a limited universe. The painting is dedicated to Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonnier, French artist 19th century, famous for its depictions of battle scenes. According to Dali, Tuna Fishing is his most important work.
In 1929, Salvador Dali met his muse, who later became his wife. This painting was created in the same year and is believed to reflect the erotic transformation that the artist underwent due to her arrival in his life. The main yellow area in the painting represents the artist's dream. A vision appears from his head, probably representing an erotic fantasy, of a naked female figure, resembling his muse, drawn to the genitals of a man, apparently the artist. Like many of the author's other works, the strange self-portrait also suffers from extras such as a fish hook, bleeding cuts, ants crawling across his face, and a grasshopper that is attached to his face. This work is a celebration of something that is usually ridiculed and is one of Dali's most controversial paintings.
After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Salvador Dali was inspired by nuclear physics and theories of atomic decay. This was also the time when he renewed his interest in Catholicism. Leading to his "Nuclear Mysticism" period, in which his works often used ideas modern science as a means of rationalization Christian religion. Realizing that matter is made of atoms, Dali caused his work to break down into several atoms. This painting is a portrait of Gala Dali, his wife and muse. Her face is made up of densely populated spheres representing atomic particles, which give a marvelous three-dimensional effect to the canvas. The Galatea in the title refers to a sea nymph in classical mythology named Galatea, who was renowned for her virtue. Galatea with the Spheres is one of the most famous paintings from Dali's period of nuclear mysticism.
Christ of Saint John of the Cross
This painting is known as the Christ of Saint John of the Cross because its design is based on a drawing by the 16th century Spanish friar John of the Cross. The composition consists of a triangle, which is formed by the hands of Christ and the horizontal of the cross; and the circle that is formed by the head of Christ. The triangle can be seen as a reference to the Holy Trinity, while the circle can represent unity, that is, all things exist in three. Although the painting is a depiction of a crucifixion, it is devoid of nails and blood. According to Dali, the inspiration for the painting came to him through a cosmic dream in which he was convinced that the image of nails and blood spoiled his image of Christ. Christ of St John of the Cross was chosen as Scotland's favorite painting in 2006 and is considered by many to be the greatest religious painting twentieth century.
Salvador Dali painted this masterpiece six months before the start of the Spanish Civil War. He claimed that he knew about the war because of the "prophetic power of his subconscious." The painting reflects his anxiety at the time and foretells the horror and violence of war. It depicts two bodies, one darker than the other, in a terrible fight where neither is victorious. The monstrous creature is self-destructive, just like the Civil War. Dali made sure that the painting looked very realistic, despite the fantastic creature it depicts. The boiled beans in the painting, which are also mentioned in the title, are perhaps an interpretation of the stew that was eaten by poor citizens living in difficult times in Spain. "Soft Construction with Boiled Beans" is considered one of the greatest masterpieces Dali is famous for his unparalleled use of surrealism to depict the horrors of war.
In The Dream, Dali recreated the appearance of a large, soft head and a practically absent body. However, in this case, the face is not a self-portrait. Sleep and dreams are superiority in the realm of the unconscious. Crutches have always been a Dali trademark, hinting at the fragility of the supports that hold up “reality,” but here nothing, not even the dog, seems inherently stable as it is propped up. Everything on the canvas except the head is bathed in a pale bluish light, adding to the sense of alienation from the world of daylight and rationality. In the work “The Dream”, Salvador Dali returned to the classic surrealist motif. Dreams are the essence of many Freudian theories due to their access to the unconscious, a pre-professional theme for the surrealists, including Dali.
Persistence of memory
This iconic and repeatedly reproduced painting depicts a scene of a clock slowly melting on rocks and a tree branch, with the ocean as a trailing blob. Dali used the concept of hard and soft in this painting. This concept can be illustrated in several ways, such as the human mind moving from the softness of a dream to the hardness of reality. In his masterpiece, Dali uses melting clocks and stones to represent the soft and hard aspects of the world respectively. Over the years, the persistence of memory has been much analyzed because Dalí never explained his work. The melting clock is considered an unconscious symbol of the relativity of space and time; as a symbol of mortality with ants surrounding a clock representing decay; and like the irrationality of dreams. The work "The Persistence of Memory" is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of art of the twentieth century. This work is not only included in the list of “Most famous paintings Dali", but is also the most famous work in surrealism.
What works of the great master of surrealism do you like? Write about it in the comments.
Salvador Dali is rightfully considered one of the most famous representatives surrealism. There is no person in the world who has not at least briefly seen his paintings.
"Surrealism is me"- Salvador DaliSalvador Dali born May 11, 1904 in the Catalan city of Fineras. As a child, Salvador was a smart, but very stubborn child who often got into trouble. Young Salvador always tried to stand out, but because large quantity I couldn't find any phobias common language with peers. Salvador began his artistic studies at school in 1914.
In 1921, Salvador Dali entered the Academy of San Fernando, where he continued to study painting. Despite his undeniable talent, Dali was expelled from the Academy in 1926, again due to obnoxious behavior.
After young artist goes to Paris, where he meets Pablo Picasso, who greatly influenced his work in subsequent years. In Paris, Salvador meets his future wife Gala.
Gradually, fame came to Dali, his paintings were exhibited, and later he joined the group of surrealists, from which he left in 1936 with a scandal. Everyone around him was amazed by Dali’s actions and views.
However, few people think about what these actions actually meant. Dali rarely sought to offend anyone, he simply lived in a different world, the world of surrealism. And it can only be characterized through the prism of surreal concepts.
Having visited Italy, Dali was delighted with the creations of the Renaissance, which could not but influence his further work. With the outbreak of World War II, Dali decided to move to the United States with his wife, where he actively collaborated with directors and film companies. Unfortunately, many of the ideas proposed by the artist were considered inappropriate and never saw the light of day.
Then Dali returned to Spain, then again conquered Paris. His activities were not limited to paintings. The artist worked on films, advertising, and costumes. In every idea he found a way to express himself.
In 1981, the artist began to develop Parkinson's disease, and a year later Gala died, which plunged the artist into a long depression that affected his work. His illness progressed, preventing him from living and painting. Dali moved to the castle when given to Gala, but after an accident he left for the theater-museum, where he met his death in 1989.
Salvador Dali is not only a talented artist, he is an exceptional personality, shaped largely by his talent and his phobias. Each of his paintings is priceless and it is not possible to choose the best among them. Therefore, we decided to choose those paintings by the artist that are considered his most famous works.
Today, May 11, is the birthday of the great Spanish painter and sculptor Salvador Dali . His legacy will forever remain with us, because in his works many find a piece of themselves - that very “madness” without which life would be boring and monotonous.
« Surrealism is me“, - the artist shamelessly asserted, and one cannot but agree with him. All his works are imbued with the spirit of surrealism - both paintings and photographs, which he created with unprecedented skill. Dali proclaimed complete freedom from any aesthetic or moral compulsion and went to the very limits in any creative experiment. He did not hesitate to bring to life the most provocative ideas and wrote everything: from love and the sexual revolution, history and technology to society and religion.
Great masturbator
The face of war
Splitting the atom
Hitler's mystery
Christ of Saint Juan de la Cruz
Dali began to be interested in art early and took private painting lessons from the artist while still at school Nunez , professor at the Academy of Arts. Then, at school fine arts At the Academy of Arts, he became close to the literary and artistic circles of Madrid - in particular, Luis Buñuel And Federico Garcia Lorcoy . However, he did not stay long at the Academy - he was expelled for some overly bold ideas, which, however, did not stop him from organizing the first small exhibition of his works and quickly becoming one of the most famous artists Catalonia.
Young women
Self-portrait with Raphael's neck
Basket with bread
Young woman seen from the back
After that Dali meets Gala, which became his muse of surrealism" Arriving at Salvador Dali with her husband, she immediately became inflamed with passion for the artist and left her husband for the sake of a genius. Dali but, absorbed in his feelings, as if he didn’t even notice that his “muse” had not arrived alone. Gala becomes his life partner and source of inspiration. She also became a bridge connecting the genius with the entire avant-garde community - her tact and gentleness allowed him to maintain at least some kind of relationship with his colleagues. The image of the beloved is reflected in many works Dali .
Portrait of Gala with two lamb ribs balancing on her shoulder
My wife, naked, looks at her own body, which has become a ladder, three vertebrae of a column, the sky and architecture
Galarina
Naked Dali, contemplating five ordered bodies, turning into carpuscules, from which Leda Leonardo, fertilized by the face of Gala, is unexpectedly created
Of course, if we talk about painting Dali , one cannot help but recall his most famous works:
A dream inspired by the flight of a bee around a pomegranate, a moment before waking up
Persistence of memory
Flaming Giraffe
Swans reflected in elephants
Pliable Structure with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War)
Anthropomorphic locker
Sodom self-satisfaction of an innocent maiden
Evening spider... hope
The Ghost of Wermeer of Delft, which can also serve as a table
Sculptures Dali took his surreal talent to a new level - from the plane of the canvas they jumped into three-dimensional space, acquiring shape and additional volume. Most of the works became intuitively familiar to the viewer - the master used in them the same images and ideas as in his canvases. To create sculptures Dali I had to spend several hours sculpting in wax and then creating molds for casting figures in bronze. Some of them were then cast in larger sizes.
Besides everything else, Dali was an excellent photographer, and in the century of the very beginning of the development of photography, together with Philip Halsman he managed to create absolutely incredible and surreal photographs.
Love art and enjoy the works of Salvador Dali!
