He was born in Spain in 1904. Maybe his best known painting is The Persistence of Memory. He had a wide range of activities, he was a painter, a film maker, a sculptor and also a photographer. He also worked with such great names like Walt Disney and Hitchcock.
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He left all the conventions, was willful and energetic. He supported Franco's regime in Spain, as a consequence he was excluded from the surrealist group. At which Dalí put a neat retort: "I myself am surrealism". When this sentence echoed in my head I realised its power. He was able to contradict his group and was able to rise above their expectations. He created himself as a notion. It needs a strong personality.
In his paintings he uses symbols like elephants, clocks or eggs. He rethinks reality and adds some spice to it.
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Finally I'd like to add a quotation from him. "I am painting pictures which make me die for joy, I am creating with an absolute naturalness, without the slightest aesthetic concern, I am making things that inspire me with a profound emotion and I am trying to paint them honestly."-Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dali was an incredible figure...As you said,he was dealing with painting,sculpture,film making,photographing...As for me,I would be happy if I did at least one of these abilities at such a high level.
It's an honour to be the first commenter of this post.:D:D