Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dali was born to in Catalonia, and his first artistic inspiration came from Spanish painter Diego Velasquez. He came from a prestigious family, and with his parents’ wealth, Dali was able to go to the best schools in Spain. To further develop his son’s skills, Dali’s father bought him a printing press. After graduating from the Royal Art Academy of Madrid, he proceeded to dazzle the world. Some of Dali’s paintings, including the 1931 masterpiece Persistence of Memory, can be haunting and deep. They give the spectator a feeling of dark mysticism, almost as if a window to one’s soul is ripped opened and a sense of vulnerability, of coming undone. It is almost frightening to witness how a few brush strokes on canvas can evoke a multitude of emotions from the core. It is frightening, yes, but also a glorious experience. From the darkness of his other paintings, Equestrian portrays an ethereal aura. On the other side of the Dali spectrum, he brings us Festival of St Lucia and Alchemist. One can see a sharp contrast of his surrealist style in these paintings, which are bright, modern and almost whimsical. His remarkable imagination was recognized by prominent names that ring out through the media industry until present time. In 1945, his help was enlisted by Alfred Hitchcock for his film Spellbound. A year later, Dali collaborated with Walt Disney for an Oscar-nominated short animation feature cartoon called Destino. Dali not only made artistic contributions in the world of film and painting, he was also a sculptor and a political writer with sharp, notorious views. Dali’s talent was well-received, but his personality left much to be desired. His peculiar, outspoken nature and crazy antics earned him a lot of critics and infuriated his supporters. Some of his exhibitionist incidents include appearing at the London Surrealist exhibition in a wet diving suit, as well as arriving at the Dali Ball, one of his opening shows in New York, wearing a brasserie outside his suit. Dali was said to have lost his mind when his wife Gala died in 1982. A few years later, after a life many believe was lived to the fullest, the famous surrealist passed as well, leaving a myriad of masterpieces for the world to enjoy up to this day.