One of the most recognized eccentric geniuses in the art world leaves us his best thoughts.
- It may interest you:”The 90 best phrases of Friedrich Nietzsche”
A man who was not afraid to manifest his thoughts and who embraced his shortcomings as a part of his personal perfection and who broke with the moralistic stereotypes of his time, through his own artistic voice. He leaves us a legacy of inspiration, where we must search deep within ourselves for that element that can bring chaos and beauty.
Phrases, reflections and thoughts of the great Salvador Dalí
That is why in this article we pay homage to Salvador Dalí with his best phrases about art, life, love and dreams in general.
1. The greatest misfortune of today’s youth is no longer belonging to it.
Dalí regrets not feeling part of any modern youth.
2. The only difference between me and a madman is that the madman thinks he is not, while I know that I am.
The painter accepted that his paintings caused irreverence because they were inspired by his strangest fantasies.
3. I am doing things that inspire me with deep emotion and I am trying to paint honestly.
It’s a very beautiful vision of how we should do the things we love.
4. He who wants to interest others has to provoke them.
People respond to acts that cause them intrigue and curiosity.
5. Everything upsets me, but nothing changes me.
Accept the things that happen, but do not let yourself be dragged by them.
6. Every day I am more anti-Dalinian. As I admire myself more, I find that I am a real catastrophe.
Dalí could see both his strengths and his weaknesses.
7. The true painter is one who is capable of painting extraordinary scenes in the middle of an empty desert.
Artists are able to observe beauty, even where there seems to be no trace of it.
8. If I die, I won’t die at all.
He was well aware that his works influenced not only his contemporaries, but the generations that followed.
9. There comes a time in everyone’s life when they realize they adore me.
Dalí knew the impact he could have on others.
10. Do not insist on being modern. Unfortunately, whatever you do, it’s the one thing you can’t help but be.
We are all influenced by fashions or trends from day to day.
11. Every morning when I wake up, I once again experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí.
If Dalí should teach you anything, it is to love yourself above all things.
12. If I were less intelligent, I would undoubtedly paint much better.
Reason is not always closely linked to artistic creations.
13. The genius has to get over the madness and the madness over the genius.
Madness, it seemed, was a great source of inspiration for many artists.
14. The important thing is that they talk about you, even if it’s good.
When others talk about you, it is that you are doing something good.
15. I think that the sweetest freedom for a man on earth is to be able to live, if he likes, without having to work.
The ideal job is one that doesn’t feel like a job at all.
16. You can’t expel me because I am Surrealism!
Perhaps he would not be its inventor, but he is the one who gave it life and popularity.
17. A true artist is not someone inspired, but one who inspires others.
It is very important that you leave your own mark, instead of being a copy of someone else.
18. I am the complete opposite of fables. Especially the one with the wolf and the lamb. When I threaten a project, people believe me, no matter how absurd it is.
Be firm in your actions and others will have no choice but to listen to you.
19. The difference between false and true memories is the same as for jewels: the one that seems the most real, the most brilliant, is always false.
An interesting analogy of what reality is for Dalí.
20. A painting is a photograph made by hand.
An interesting view on the paintings.
21. Very little of what could happen, happens.
That is why we must not worry thinking about what will happen, but live what is happening.
22. The clown is not me, but that society so monstrously cynical and unconsciously naive that plays a serious role to disguise its madness.
Dalí had a great conflict with the extreme conservationism of society.
23. Those who want to imitate everything, do not produce anything.
If you want to make a name for yourself, you can’t usurp someone else’s work.
24. I believe that life should be a continuous party.
Life is to be lived, not to focus on the negatives.
25. Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.
If you can do something well, then do your best to make it your livelihood.
26. Many people do not turn eighty because they try for too long to stay in their forties.
Part of living life is accepting each stage of life without feeling ashamed of it.
27. Life is short, but not short.
You have enough time to do everything you want to do.
28. Just because I don’t know the meaning of my art doesn’t mean I don’t have it.
Everything has a meaning, even if only you know it.
29. Life is too short to go unnoticed.
Once again, Dalí reminds us of the importance of living life without hesitation.
30. Give me two hours a day of activity and I will follow the other twenty-two in dreams
Dreams can be a great source of inspiration and have led many to success.
31. Where is the real? All appearance is deceitful, the visible surface is deceptive. I look at my hand. They are nerves, muscles, bones. Let’s dig deeper: it’s the molecules and the acids.
For you, what is real in this world?
32. The moral law must have a divine origin, since before the tablets of Moses it was already contained in the genetic spirals.
Morality and religion go hand in hand.
33. Wars have never hurt anyone, except people who die.
In wars, only the victims it leaves in its wake really suffer, not those who start them.
34. Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers limits our vision.
Sometimes it is necessary to break ties, even comfortable ones, to be truly free.
35. Bad taste is creative. It is the domain of biology over intelligence.
For Dalí, the spontaneous and instinctive have more weight than the logical.
36. Modesty is not my specialty. Dalí is only good because the rest of the painters are very bad.
An irreverent way to express your talent.
37. The desire to survive and the fear of death are artistic feelings.
Great passions are the engine of creativity.
38. I declare the independence of the imagination and the right of man to his own madness.
No one can control your imagination, only you.
39. It is good taste, and only good taste, that has the power to sterilize and is always the first obstacle to any creative functioning.
Elite people only focus on what can bring profit, instead of something that promises talent.
40. The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet, the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot.
An allusion to what he considered the meaning of imitation.
41. Drawing is the honesty of art. There is no chance to cheat. Is good or bad.
Drawing is a science in itself.
42. Let my enemies devour each other.
It is better to choose well which drama to engage in and which not to do so.
43. For me, love must be ugly, appearance must be divine, and death must be beautiful.
Quite peculiar ideas of Dalí.
44. Time is one of the few important things we have left.
Despite everything, Dalí knew how to make the most of every second he had.
45. One might think that through ecstasy we enter a world far from reality and dreams. The disgusting become desirable, affection cruelty, ugly beautiful, etc.
Psychotropic fantasies only take you away from what you should be living.
46. I am much more interested in talking, or being in contact with people who think the opposite of what I think, than with those who think the same as I think.
When we talk to someone with different ideas, we can learn many more things that we were not aware that we ignored.
47. The one thing the world will never get tired of is hype.
Striking and different things always have a place in people’s attention.
48. When you are a genius we have no right to die because we are needed for the progress of humanity.
When what you contribute is so significant, you have the right to continue creating things for posterity.
49. The thermometer of success is simply the envy of the discontented.
You know that you are gaining fame with every criticism you receive to bring you down.
50. Writing is simply what I say, and that will come the day when it will be accepted.
Writing is a means to always tell the truth.
51. I categorically refuse to consider that surrealism is another literary artistic group. I think they were able to free man from the tyranny of the ‘practical and rational’ world.
A very beautiful view on your work area.
52. There is nothing more surreal than reality.
Reality can sometimes be stranger than fiction.
53. Do not be afraid of perfection because you will never achieve it.
Perfection is just a construct that each person possesses.
54. There are some days when I think I’m going to die from an overdose of satisfaction.
This is the way we should all feel about our work.
55. The existence of reality is the most mysterious, most sublime and most surreal thing that is known.
Reality is a mystery, because everyone has their own reality.
56. The pleasure of the flesh can only be satisfied if a particular dimension is created, a kind of stereoscopic phenomenon, an imaginary hologram as real as reality is.
Pleasure comes away from the limits imposed on us by society.
57. We are all hungry and thirsty for concrete images.
We need something real and that we can see, to know that we are in the right place.
58. I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, but rather so that the person grows to look like their portrait.
Dalí saw more the essence of a person than their superficial appearance.
59. The true painter is one who is able to patiently paint a pear surrounded by the tumult of history.
Painters must be able to find stability in the midst of chaos.
60. The least that can be asked of a sculpture is that it does not move.
Sculptures can tell more stories than anything else.
61. You have to systematically create confusion, thus creativity is released. Everything that is contradictory creates life.
The innovative gains attention, since it is a new birth that is expected to see its growth.
62. Knowing how to look is a way of inventing.
Observing allows you to discover things that no one else has done.
63. I do not take drugs. I am a drug.
Dalí questioned the effects of drugs and only felt a great rejection towards them.
64. The true painter must be able to have, with the most unusual things, the most unusual ideas.
Artists must create wonders with whatever comes from their imagination.
65. The secret of my influence has always been that it was kept secret.
Although they wanted to silence the voice of this great artist, they only managed to cause more intrigue about who he was and what he did.
66. I am not strange. I’m just not normal.
Why do you have to be like the others?
67. While we are asleep in this world, we are awake in the other.
If you don’t find inspiration in reality, then go to your dreams.
68. The reason some portraits don’t look true to life is that some people don’t make any effort to look like their images.
People prefer their appearance to what they carry inside of themselves.
69. People love mystery, that’s why they love my paintings.
We all want to solve what intrigues us.
70. It will always be you and me.
For Gaia, his eternal lover with whom he had to fight against criticism from those who did not accept their relationship.
71. Repulsion is the sentinel that guards the door to everything we most desire.
Sometimes rejecting something is just a way to hide how much we want it.
72. God is just another artist. Like me.
A perspective on God.
73. Forever… Be you.
Never trade for someone. Change to find the real essence of you.
74. I am able to project myself in my little internal cinema. I free myself through a secret exit from the attempts to besiege my own soul.
Creativity can help release thousands of inner demons that only plague us.
75. Start by learning to draw and paint like the old masters. After that, you can do whatever you want; everyone will respect you.
It is not about avoiding looking for inspiration in others, but once you do, find your own path.
76. Freedom of any kind is the worst for creativity.
For Dalí, freedom ceases to be interesting and therefore creativity is lost.
77. At the age of six he wanted to be a cook. At seven he wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.
Every day we can have different ambitions.
78. It is not necessary for the public to know if I am joking or if I am serious, just as it is not necessary for me to know.
For Dalí, his art spoke louder than anything else.
79.All my knowledge, both of science and religion, I incorporate into the classical tradition of my painting.
Everyday life can also be a great source of inspiration.
80. I am the first to be surprised and often terrified by the images I see on my canvas.
In reality, we don’t know what we are capable of doing until we do it.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.