Lobsters and lunacy: The zaniest Surrealist of them all Painter, sculptor, writer, film-maker, and all-round showmanSalvador Dali(1904 1989) was one of thetwentieth century s greatest exhibitionists and eccentrics. One of the first artists to apply the insights ofFreudian psychoanalysisto art, he is celebrated in particular for his surrealist practice, with such conceits as thesoft watchesor thelobster telephone, now hallmarks of the surrealist enterprise, and of modernism in general.Dali frequently described his paintings as hand-painted dream photographs. Their tantalizing tension and interest resides in theprecise rendering of bizarre elementsand incongruous arrangements. As Dali himself explained, he painted with the most imperialist fury of precision, but only to systematize confusion and thus to help discredit completely the world of reality. Revolutionizing the role of the artist, the mustache-twirling Dali also had the intuition to parade acontroversial persona in the public arenaand, through printmaking, fashion, advertising, writing, and film, to create work that could be consumed and not just contemplated on a gallery wall.This book explores both the painting and the personality of Dali, introducing his technical skill as well as his provocative compositions and challenging themes of death, decay, and eroticism. About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN s Basic Art series features: a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions "