By Paul Chimera Dalí Historian/Writer Whenever Salvador Dalí took on any major project, the world watched and waited – sometimes with bated breath. With so unpredictable a figure as Dalí, you never quite knew what to expect from this eccentric denizen of contemporary counter-culture. So when Dalí declared in 1959 that he was working…
By Paul Chimera Dalí Historian & Writer There are so many Dalí paintings, Dalí prints, Dalí drawings, Dalí…everything that are positively stunning, yet often don’t garner the banner headlines the artist’s larger, more widely known works do. Dalí art doesn’t have to feature soft watches, burning giraffes, spider-legged elephants – or be massive in…
By Paul Chimera Dalí Historian & Writer Salvador Dalí was influenced by…EVERYTHING! A random shadow cast by tree limbs gave rise to inspiration. A commercial image on brand name packaging triggered a vision. But there were also certain long-standing interests Dalí cultivated that drew him in and shaped the ideas for his next masterpiece. Such…
By Paul Chimera Dalí Historian & Writer Certain Dalí works speak to me. In fact, I can almost feel them – feel their grip – psychically and even physically. Sounds crazy, I know. It’s impossible to explain. But maybe you’ve experienced it, too. There’s a consuming, compelling energy that certain works of art radiate. It’s…
By Paul Chimera Dalí Historian & Writer Here’s a different take on the most talked-about, yet possibly least understood of Dalí paintings – his iconic “The Persistence of Memory.” This small 1931 canvas, painted when Salvador Dalí was just 27 years old, goes unchallenged as not only Dalí’s most universally recognized work, but the most…
By Paul Chimera Dalí Historian & Writer It’s easy to see why many people consider “Nature Morte Vivante” (“Still Life, Fast Moving”) their favorite Salvador Dalí painting. It’s a spellbinding canvas, largely because Dalí painted it with a technique rivaling Vermeer or Velasquez. I saw this stunning 1956 work for the first time in the…
By Paul Chimera Dalí Society® Historian/Writer Almost every person I know has had a similar reaction to Salvador Dalí’s 1955 painting, “The Sacrament of the Last Supper,” when they see it in person: “Damn! It takes your breath away!” It’s true. This large 1955 canvas, which has hung in the National Gallery of Art in…
By Paul Chimera Dalí Society® Historian & Writer I want to look at two things in today’s blog post: Dalí’s portraiture, and Dalí’s technical brilliance. Let me address the technique question first. It’s pretty much a cliché by now, but it still means as much as when it was first articulated: Dalí paintings, Dalí…
By Paul Chimera Dalí Society® Historian/Writer Among the many things Salvador Dalí did that one can safely call mind-blowing is how he played with spatial relationships in his paintings. This man wanted to be remembered as the dean of DIFFERENT! Think about it. Everything Dalí did was counter to “normal.” Of course, anyone expecting…
Mr. Nuzzolo is president of the Salvador Dalí Society®, Inc. and co-author – with Peter B. Lucas and Lawrence Saphire – of Salvador Dalí Prints: The Catalogue Raisonne, to be released in early 2017. He chats below with Dalí Society® historian and blogger Paul Chimera, in another installment of our weekly feature, “Ask the…