Photo: Van Vechten, Carl, 1880-1964. / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Honestly, Dalí is one of those rare figures where the art and the man are equally unhinged in the best possible way — and I mean that as the highest compliment. The melting clocks in The Persistence of Memory alone would be enough to cement a legacy, but he kept going: the disturbing beauty of The Face of War, the almost devotional grandeur of Christ of Saint John of the Cross, the raw provocation of The Great Masturbator. He was classically trained to a frightening degree — his draftsmanship was meticulous — and he used that precision to drag dreamlogic onto canvas with complete conviction. Born in Catalonia in 1904, he lived long enough to become both a genuine surrealist pioneer and a self-created celebrity spectacle, and I think he absolutely knew what he was doing on both fronts. When he died in 1989, the art world lost one of its last true showmen who also happened to be genuinely, undeniably great.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Salvador Dalí
- Name (Japanese)
- サルバドール・ダリ
- Reading
- さるばどーる・だり
- Born
- May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Dragon
- Origin
- Figueres, Catalonia, Spain
- Occupation
- painter / sculptor / writer / actor / film director
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 1964 Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
- 1981 Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
- Gold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia
- 1971 Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts
- 1986 Gold Medal for Tourism Merit
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | The Persistence of Memory | — | |
| Notable work | Christ of Saint John of the Cross | — | |
| Notable work | The Sacrament of the Last Supper | — | |
| Notable work | The Great Masturbator | — | |
| Notable work | Soft Construction with Boiled Beans | — | |
| Notable work | The Face of War | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Salvador Dalí born?
May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989.
Where is Salvador Dalí from?
Salvador Dalí is from Figueres, Catalonia, Spain.
What does Salvador Dalí do?
Salvador Dalí works as painter, sculptor, writer, actor, film director.
What is Salvador Dalí known for?
Notable works include The Persistence of Memory, Christ of Saint John of the Cross, The Sacrament of the Last Supper.
Painter — see all → · Sculptor — see all → · More people from Spain →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.