Dali: Genius, Obsession and Lust

by Ralf Schiebler, Jacqueline Guigui-Stolberg

Salvador Dali's life and art were dominated by an almost insatiable craving for sex, money, and fame, as well as by a morbid fascination with death. He thrived on the acquisition of knowledge, absorbing influences both from other artists and from contemporary philosophy and science. Dali's extraordinary gift for artistic expression found an outlet in countless his technical virtuosity was seemingly unbounded. The more recognition he achieved, the greater his indulgence in his passions. Ambition became megalomania, sensuality became depravity.
Genius, Obsession and Lust analyzes the different periods of the artist's development from 1921 to 1983, supported by a selection of his most brilliant paintings. The book presents a series of new and detailed interpretations of Dali's pictures, based on the artist's own writings and applying the motivational theories of two men who deeply influenced his Sigmund Freud and his protege, Otto Rank. Dali painted provocative surrealist visions of sexuality, as well as masterly images of death. After World War II, he seized upon new theories in physics, biology, and mathematics, in a process that revealed almost limitless powers of intuition.

Genres: Art

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1997

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

The text was disappointing; shallow and unsubstantiated at times (despite lots of footnotes), while at others it presents Dali as a one-dimensional caricature. I think it is a matter of authorial tone. This is a translation so that might be part of the problem. Anyway, Schiebler’s interpretations of the paintings relied almost exclusively (with the exception of discussing Dali’s fascination with science and its influence on his latter work) on Dali’s well-known affinity for Freud, and thus were not particularly enlightening. The illustrations in the book are awesome, however. More than 60 color plates, some from his less familiar paintings, or details that emphasize less obvious aspects of the larger works. This book makes the case once again for a picture being worth….

[Kathleen Lovelace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating study that attempts to provide balance and insight on Dali the artist and the person. It is accompanied by high quality illustrations of many familiar and lesser known works. The style of this translation of the original German edition is at times dense and opaque since it assumes familiarity with European philosophical and literary beacons of the early 20th century. I would have loved greater elaboration of the influences that Schiebler so casually mentions.