Dali thought himselfa genius with a right to indulge in whatever lunacy popped into his head. Painter, sculptor, writer and film maker,Salvador Dali was one of the cen tury's greatest exhibitionists and eccentrics - and was rewarded with fierce controversy wherever he went.

Picasso called Dali "an outboard motor that's always running." Dali thought himselfa genius with a right to indulge in whatever lunacy popped into his head. Painter, sculptor, writer and film maker,Salvador Dali (1904 - 1989) was one of the cen tury'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. He brought extraordinary sensitivity,imagination and concern for precision to bear upon submerged levels of consciousness. This lively biography presents the infamous Surrealist in full colour and in his own words. His provocative ideas are all here, from the soft watches to the notorious burning giraffe. And the fantastic phenomenon that was Salvador Dali is grasped entire, and placed in his various contexts.

Robert Descharnes (born i926) is a photographer and writer, and has made numerous films, including L'Histoire prodigieuse de la dentelli&e et du rhinocdros. He has written for magazines in France and elsewhere, and has published studies ofmaior artists, among them Antoni Gaudi and Auguste Rodin. His labours have been primarily devoted to Salvador Dali, though, and he has helped organize Dali exhibitions at major museums and galleries throughout tile world. Since I95O he has been documenting and cataloguing Dali's paintings and writings, and is now considered the leading expert on the artist. Shortly before Dali's death, Descharnes was appointed by him to take charge of the rights to his works, within the Societe Demart Pro Arte B.V., of which Descharnes is president. As a friend of the artist for over thirty years, privy to the realities behind the public image, Robert Descharnes is uniquely qualified to analyse Dali the man and Dali the myth.

The Dandy and his Mirror

The Proof of Love

Edible Beauty

The Conquest of the Irrational

The Magic Secrets of Avida Dollars

The Mystical Manifesto

Paths to Immortality

Dali: A Chronology

Notes

Bibliography

Dali's Exhibitions

Picture Credits