Café Bonito

Salvador Dali (1904 – 1989) uses two of his hallmark symbols—iconic melting watches and insects, set against the Spanish coastline— to create “Soft Watch at the Moment of First Explosion,” a study of disintegration prompted by his dismay over the use of atomic weapons. With a personality as non-conformist as his artwork, Dali singlehandedly forged a Surrealistic style defined by virtuoso realism and bold, disturbingly dreamlike fantasy. Strongly influenced by Sigmund Freud’s theories regarding dreams and the subconscious, Dali expresses the deepest fears, hopes and frustrations of his era in a way that is uniquely his own.

Spanish artist Salvador Dali was a groundbreaking icon of the Surrealist movement and one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. His work probed the unconscious world of thoughts, dreams and perception in fanciful and nightmarish images influenced by Freud, Cubism, Futurism and metaphysical art. Extraordinarily imaginative, Dali also sculpted, and contributed to fashion, photography and theater. Nearly photographic, Dali’s art has been called the epitome of Surrealism.