Salvador Dali. The Paintings

The seminal surrealist. Exploring Dalí's grandiose and grotesque oeuvre

Picasso called Dalí "an outboard motor that’s always running." Dalí thought himself a genius with a right to indulge in whatever lunacy popped into his head. Painter, sculptor, writer, and filmmaker, Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) was one of the century’s greatest exhibitionists and eccentrics — and was rewarded with fierce controversy wherever he went. He was one of the first to apply the insights of Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis to the art of painting, approaching the subconscious with extraordinary sensitivity and imagination.

This publication presents the entire painted oeuvre of Salvador Dalí. After many years of research, Robert Descharnes and Gilles Néret finally located all the paintings of this highly prolific artist. Many of the works had been inaccessible for years— in fact so many that almost half the illustrations in this book had rarely been seen.

About the authors:

Robert Descharnes, a photographer and writer, has published studies of major artists, among them Antoni Gaudí and Auguste Rodin. Since 1950, he has been documenting and cataloguing Dalí's paintings and writings and is now considered the leading expert on the artist.

Gilles Néret (1933–2005) was an art historian, journalist, writer and museum correspondent. He organized several art retrospectives in Japan and founded the SEIBU museum and the Wildenstein Gallery in Tokyo. He directed art reviews such as L'Œil and Connaissance des Arts and received the Elie Faure Prize in 1981 for his publications. His TASCHEN titles include Salvador Dalí: The Paintings, Matisse, and Erotica Universalis.

About the series:

Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price!

Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together more than 100 of our all-time favourite titles in a neat new format so you can curate your own affordable library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia.

Bookworm’s delight — never bore, always excite!