NOTE: The following article is a guest submission by one of my students, soon to be 7th grader, Rebecca W. As a student, her intellectual ability is nicely balanced by her warmth and Christian faith. Other than minor editing, the article is entirely her own. – J. Michaels

Salvador Dali, a famous painter! I bet you never heard about him. He was a Spanish artist, but what kind of art did he make?

Salvadore Dali was born May 11, 1904 in Figueras, Spain. He was the son of Salvadore Dali Cusi and Felipa Damenech Ferres. In his early life his family lived in Figueras, Catalonia, Spain, but most summers in the seaside of Cadaques. Well, why did Dali spend his time by the seaside? This was his place to draw and paint the beautiful coast with his family. He had two siblings, but his first-born died and he was also named Salvador. He also had a younger sister – Ava Maria – born four years later in 1908. He spoke several languages: Catala, Spanish, and French.

Unfortunately, his precious childhood came to an end when his mother passed away from cancer. I think he was passionate about his art from a young age. He knew what he loved. Soon after, Dali enrolled at Real Academia de Bellas Aries de San Fernando in Madrid. During his time there, Dali discovered many different art styles. He had an unusual sense of art until he developed a new, mature style in the 1920s.

Salvadore discovered Sigmund Freud’s writings on subconscious imagery and he was connected with Paris surrealists, a group of artists who wanted to establish the ‘greater reality’ of everyone’s subconscious. This is when he began to hallucinate states of himself, which he described as paranoiac critical.

By 1937 he became the best-known surrealist in the art world. He would picture a ‘dream-world’ where the objects were deformed and abnormal. He portrayed these objects in meticulous manner and there was almost always reminiscent approach to his homeland, Catalonia.

A couple of years later, he began to paint in a more academic style because he was influenced by another painter – Raphael. Dali liked this specific style, and he was eventually expelled from the surrealist group by his colleagues. He then decided to try designing. He designed interiors of fashion shops, theater sets, and even jewelry. He also did a stunt for his flamboyant self-promotional project in the United States, where he would live from 1940-1955.

Almost his entire life, Dali was an atheist until he decided to attend a private audience with Pope Pius XII. Years went by and he completed a painting called ‘Liquid Desire’. From what I see, it looks like Christianity changed his artwork. Now it is very focused on the Lord.

In 1984, Dali was horribly injured in a house fire and was forced to be in a wheelchair. Then later, on January 23, 1989, he died from a heart attack. He was 84.

This is all about Salvador Dali and his passion. In my opinion and understanding, I feel like reading and acknowledging people like him can really change your perspective on things. Christianity can really change things!

C Jeffery J. Michaels / Plain English Publications (2025)
(Quotations allowed with attribution to this blog)