Salvador
Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol (May 11,
1904 – January 23, 1989), commonly known as Salvador Dalí, was a
prominent Spanish surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain.
Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and
bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are
often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. His
best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in
1931. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire includes film,
sculpture, and photography, in collaboration with a range of
artists in a variety of media.
Dalí attributed his "love of everything that is gilded and
excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental
clothes" to a self-styled "Arab lineage", claiming that his
ancestors were descended from the Moors.
Dalí was highly imaginative, and also had an affinity for
partaking in unusual and grandiose behavior. His eccentric
manner and attention-grabbing public actions sometimes drew more
attention than his artwork to the dismay of those who held his
work in high esteem and to the irritation of his critics.
Salvador
Dalí has been cited as major inspiration from many modern
artists, such as Damien Hirst, Noel Fielding, Jeff Koons and
most other modern surrealists. Salvador Dalí's manic expression
and famous moustache have made him something of a cultural icon
for the bizarre & surreal.