By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   The might-have-been’s in Salvador Dali’s colorful career are fascinating. He would have been an emperor in the classic movie, “Dune,” were it not for his salary demands that were too rich for director Alexander Jodorowsky’s blood. His idea to erect a large model of a woman with a fish’s head – an apparently blasphemous twist on the iconic “Birth of Venus” by Botticelli – was squashed by the

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   Sometimes I think Salvador Dali must have grown out of a rock formation in his native Spain!   That’s how hugely important the unique topology of his native countryside was in shaping his thoughts, ideas, and images. I’m talking specifically the Costa Brava and, more specifically, points such as Cadaques, Cape Creus, the Bay of Rosas, and, of course, Port Lligat.   In addition, specific points of interest

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   People love the art of Salvador Dali. Some people like to steel it, too.   The latest caper made international headlines just days ago: police in Beirut, Lebanon, arrested four people who were trying to sell a stolen 1954 Dali oil titled “Portrait of Mrs. James Reeves” (not “Reese,” as at least one book author erroneously spelled it).   The plan was reportedly to sell the stunning 58

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   Picture it. You’ve waited for years to see in person the Salvador Dali masterpiece that is perhaps the most famous religious painting in modern history: “Christ of St. John of the Cross.”   Your heart pounds with rising intensity as you approach the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. And in short order the news slams you like a Pacific tsunami:   “I’m sorry. Dali’s ‘Christ of St.

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   It’s possible that, were it not for Salvador Dali’s eccentricities and obsessions, he might not have preserved history quite as well.   What am I talking about?   Simply this: Dali’s locking onto certain details in works by masters who came before him – a focus that was often obsessive, such as his nearly pathological obsession with the painting, “The Angelus” by Millet – ensured that these artists’

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   Salvador Dali had one of the greatest one-liners ever in justifying his undeniable commercialism that developed on the heels of his worldwide artistic fame. Said Dali: “Most people work so they can make money; I make money so I can work!”   What the Surrealist master meant, of course, was that the large sums of money he was paid to execute commercial commissions allowed him the time and the freedom to pursue his

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   One of the most surprisingly simple and tranquil paintings by Salvador Dali – while at the same time one that’s puzzled and confounded many Dali enthusiasts – is his interesting little oil on canvas, “Original Sin,” painted in 1941. Copyright Gala-Dali Foundation   The work is technically brilliant, really showing off Salvador Dali’s consummate draftsmanship. Look at the way he handled the veins in the woman’s foot. And

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   One of the most exciting things for me in this lifelong Dali adventure is encountering never-before or seldom seen works by the Surrealist master. It’s almost like the sublime feeling a scientist must get when the archaeological dig he or she is on suddenly turns up an ancient artifact of startling significance.   Today I’m focusing on an early Salvador Dali painting that was reproduced only in black

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   Salvador Dali called Pablo Picasso his “artistic father,” and the elder Spaniard’s influence on some of Dali’s early work is undeniable – such as in the subject of today’s blog post: the small, approx. 8 inch by 11 inch “Figures Lying on the Sand” of 1926.     Not only did Picasso paint “The Bathers” and several similar works that invite comparison to the Dali painting, but clearly

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   In the early 1970s, just when I thought Salvador Dali couldn’t top the amazing works he was creating at the easel, along came an article in TIME magazine that literally knocked me on my gluteus maximus.   I was introduced to an utterly new phenomenon – holography – and how Salvador Dali was the first major artist to leverage this breakthrough technology for fine art purposes.   Accompanying