Dali

by Linde Salber

Accessible and affordable biography with over 30 full-color plates

Genres: Biography, Art

170 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Grady Ormsby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got some interesting insights from Dali by Linde Salber (translated from German by Anna Wyburd). Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dali y Domenech is best known for his surrealist paintings. He was, however, a multi-dimensional artist; his oeuvre includes sculpture, jewelry, glass, film, stage design and fiction and non-fiction writing. His style and approach to art was not limited to surrealism. He describes his style as being paranoid-critical. In the words of the author, "He protested against the traditional life-style of the older generation in the typical manner of young people of his age, but unlike most of them he felt he had a vocation to recreate his own life along new lines. He had chosen art in order to rescue and carry over into adulthood a child's life-style, free of the constraints of bourgeois conformity and cares about financial security. Only in art could he make the principle of being different, eccentric and contrary the principle ingredient in moulding his life-style." Irreverent, iconoclastic, bombastic, eccentric, perhaps a bit insane, but nonetheless, a genius whose greatest work was probably himself.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good, short book about Dali's life. I learned a lot, but wasn't particularly pulled in by the text. Some parts were very brief and left me wanting to know more. I liked that fact that there are pictures included, when there's an analysis of one of his paintings, it's nice to actually get to see the piece of art that's being talked about. A solid biography.