By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   Salvador Dali had a lifelong love and respect for the Old Masters. He acknowledged their influence in very specific ways, at times, in certain of his works. And he emulated their technique and affinity for craftsmanship in his sharp, careful painting style.   References to great masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Velazquez, Vermeer, and Michelangelo – among others – can be found throughout Dali’s prodigious career.   One of

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   When it comes to examining the extraordinary, complex, and often confounding life and work of Salvador Dali, you never quite know how – or if – you’ll connect the dots. But sometimes the solution comes when you least expect it.   Such was the case recently. In the most oddly-timed, esoteric, yet fascinating of ways.   It involves the interesting painting, Melancholy, Atomic, Uranic Idyll. This strange and

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   I recently expressed great joy in finally seeing Salvador Dali’s appearance on the old Dick Cavett Show, after literally decades of not-so-patient waiting. Dali was such a colorful, unpredictable, amusing and, yes, seemingly crazy character, that watching him talk and explain his ideas and thoughts in a forum like a TV talk show is a truly special experience.   Dick Cavett did a decent job of handling the

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   Fellow Dali nuts who know me well know that, for countless years, I lamented and expressed serious frustration over the fact that I was aware Salvador Dali had appeared on the old Dick Cavett Show, but had never seen a clip of it.  And honestly thought I never would.   What’s more, when I was told Dali came on Cavett’s set holding an ant eater and that he tossed it

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   Certain paintings, drawings, prints and other creations by Salvador Dali have something about them that’s a bit of a mystery to me. They’re works that not only grab ahold of me, but seduce me into coming back to them time and again, insisting that each time I return I discover something new.   Do you ever have this kind of experience with certain Dali’s? It’s really quite exhilarating!

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   Everyone has their “thing” when it comes to Salvador Dali. Some love how mind-bending his paintings were. Not to mention his drawings, prints, and three-dimensional objects.   Others are fascinated by his scientific and mathematical mind. Many couldn’t get enough of his eccentricities, especially when they went public in what was invariably headline-making fashion.   Of the many “things” that make Dali irresistible to me is how you

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   Salvador Dali was almost frustratingly contradictory. His so-called false memories, discussed in his Secret Life autobiography, added to his enigma, his living paradox.   When it came to music as an art form, Dali claimed it was woefully inferior to painting. The eye clearly triumphed over the ear, he believed. The transitory nature of music paled in comparison to the tangibility and permanence of painting, Dali insisted. And yet

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   I once wrote that, had Salvador Dali painted nothing more than landscapes, his place in art history would still be assured. Of course, let’s be clear: Dali could have painted anything; his talent was beyond extraordinary.   Fortunately for lovers of landscape painting, Dali produced some remarkable ones – sometimes decked out in the regalia of mind-bending surrealism, on other occasions just cloaked in everyday clothes. Either way,

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   One of the fascinating, ingenious, and at times amusing aspects of the art of Salvador Dali is how he titled his works. Some titles are so lengthy, verbose, and convoluted – or just impossible to remember – that alternative titles were adopted to abridge things and liberate writers like me from the laborious task of keystroking their names. Which I’m not sure anyone ever remembers with complete accuracy.

By Paul Chimera Salvador Dali Historian   Everything Salvador Dali did was calculated. Well-thought-out. Purposeful. Deliberate. Carefully crafted.   Nowhere is this more evident than in the studies (a.k.a., preparatory sketches) he made in the process of creating masterpieces. In some cases the studies are mini-masterpieces in themselves. At least I think so, and I bet others share that view. We’ll look at some here.   Dali cared about exactitude. He was a scrupulously disciplined