...and THE RESULT WAS DALI

"During The Renaissance, when they wished to imitate Immortal Greece, they produced Raphael. Ingres wished to imitate Raphael, and became Ingres. Cezanne wished to imitate Poussin, and thus became Cezanne. Dali wanted to imitate Meissonier and THE RESULT WAS DALI. Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing."

Salvador Dali
from Dali by Dali   

I've always liked this quote, both for what it actually says and for the grandiose manner in which it's stated. THE RESULT WAS DALI. Indeed...

At this point at least, I don't know a whole lot about Salvadore Dali as a person, but I do know enough that if I knew more, I might not be writing this blog. I might be just as appalled by him as some others seem to be. George Orwell wrote of him(and I'm paraphrasing here, at least somewhat)you must be able to separate in your mind the marvelous draughtsman from the disgusting human being. A friend of mine wrote on Facebook, after I'd posted this quote, that it's good to have him back where he belongs. 

Strong words. I try to do as Orwell suggested with some of these despicable folks whose art I might like, to separate the great art from the shitty human being who made it. Indeed, sometimes it's best, it would seem, not to know too much about the artist as a person. If so, I just might still be a fan of Ginger Baker. Terrific drummer. 

Galatea of the Spheres(1952)

I gotta say, though, whatever kind of person he was(and I feel like I know just enough to almost not want to know more), Dali was a wonderful artist. And that's what I want to share here:

The Great Masturbator(1929)

The Swallow Tail(1983)

I didn't include his best-known work, The Persistence of Memory(1937), simply because it is his best-known work. In other words, you already know that one. 
It was the only one I remembered myself, and I felt very dilettantish, like the 'jazz fan' who only knows the song Take Five..

Metamorphosis of Narcissus(1937)

The First Days of Spring

Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire(1940)

By the way, as someone who plays jazz(guitar), we don't usually dig having to play Take Five. It's a shame nobody asks you to play Wendy- another, better Paul Desmond tune. 

But I digress. Back to Dali. I did a little reading and viewing as far as the pictures I'm sharing with you here, and I gotta say I was riveted! Couldn't tear myself away. I spent hours looking at these incredible paintings. 

Dali was a flamboyant character. Hard telling how much of his persona(if any)was actually him(in other words, his character, if you will)and how much was just a smokescreen. But that really doesn't matter. The person, with all his foibles, eventually passes. His art, if there's something there, is what lasts. 

So this is my view of Salvadore Dali, wholly based on the amazing artwork you see here. Well, okay, there was a funny story I read about Sonny and Cher visiting him in, I think, 1960, and Cher sitting in a chair that happened to have an oddly shaped vibrator in it. And of course from there, you can just imagine the fun....