From politics to religion, psychology to nuclear physics, learn how Dal’s work embraces nearly every major historic development of the twentieth century.

Although Salvador Dals characteristically provocative behavior and bizarre pictorial language made him an outlier in high society, his body of work reflects his centurys most important innovations and concerns.

This introduction to Dals work features dozens of reproductions as it traces the artists development, life and career. Readers will learn how he was influenced by contemporaries Mir, Ernst, and de Chirico as well as by Raphael and Gaud.

The book explores Dals early adoption of Surrealism, his fascination with the subconscious, and his antipathy toward war. It illustrates how Dals return to the Catholic church and his interest in nuclear and atomic physics was manifested in his paintings; how he experimented in film and, later, even created holograms.

By making Dals often perplexing art accessible to audiences of every level, this engaging introduction helps readers understand why he remains one of the most influentialand imitatedartists of all time.