Five less-known facts about Salvador Dali on his 117th birthday

That iconic moustache how he broke the norms of conventional art and his idiosyncratic brand of surrealism mdash these are things about the legendary artist Salvador Dali that are hotly discussed even todayHis kind of surrealism touched not just paintings but extended into sculpture film and photography too In 1929 in collaboration with Spanish director Luis Buntildeuel he created the surrealist film lsquoUn Chien Andaloursquo The film had no plot and was a montage of disconnected imagesAmong paintings lsquoThe Persistence of Memoryrsquo in which melting clocks depict the fluidity of time and space remains his most popular work He used what he called the lsquoparanoiaccritical methodrsquo or the mindrsquos paranoid state to create such art that incorporates the deconstructed ideas of realityOn his 117th birth anniversary here are a few interesting facts about the maestroHis connection with IndiaThe story dates back to 1967 The then public relations officer of Air India Jot Singh had a chance meeting with Dali in New York City At the time Air India was known as a vast collector of art Singh requested Dali to craft something for the airline The surrealist agreed and designed a small porcelain ashtray with a shellshaped centre surrounded by a serpent on top and supported by two headstands mdash a swan on one side and elephant on the otherIn return for his creation Dali wanted an elephant As mentioned in the Conde Nast Traveller Dali reasoned ldquoI wish to keep him in my olive grove and watch the patterns of shadows the moonlight makes through the twigs on his backrdquoA twoyearold elephant was flown from Bangalore to Geneva From there it was transported by truck to Cadaques to Dalirsquos abode The animal reportedly got a grand welcome mdash a parade was organised in its honour mdash and the mayor declared a threeday holidayHe was greatly influenced by Sigmund FreudDali was a huge fan of neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud While in art school Dali read Freudrsquos book lsquoThe Interpretation of Dreamsrsquo and was inspired by the concept of selfinterpretation In 1938 Dali finally met Freud in London Dali brought his painting lsquoThe Metamorphosis of Narcissusrsquo Dalirsquos interpretation of the Greek myth of Narcissus using paranoiaccritical method to the meeting The interaction was arranged by author Stefan Zweig and patron Edward James ndash the latter owned the painting During this encounter Dali got the privilege to sketch FreudThe inspiration behind his iconic moustacheHis upturned moustache is one of the most talkedabout aspects of the painter aside from his art works Even today his image generates curiosity and some continue to emulate that look However during a television appearance Dali spilled the secret behind his facial hair He said ldquoIts the most serious part of my personality Its a very simple Hungarian moustache Mr Marcel Proust the French novelist used the same kind of pomade for this moustacherdquoHe was removed from the surrealist movementEven though he is considered to be one of the most important figures of the movement now Dali was removed by the Surrealists The Surrealists mostly identified with Marxist ideology and were shocked by Dalirsquos fascination with with authoritarianism and in particular with Adolf Hitler This was visible in his creations as well including 1939rsquos lsquoThe Enigma of Hitlerrsquoan interpretation of dreams he had about Hitler He was expelled by the Surrealists the same yearHis parents believed he was his older brotherrsquos reincarnationDali was born nine months after his older brotherrsquos death due to gastroenteritis At the age of five his parents took him to his older brotherrsquos grave and stated that they believed Dali was his brothers reincarnation He was even named lsquoSalvadorrsquo after his brother As mentioned in Art amp Object Dali while speaking on his relationship with his brother once said ldquoWe resembled each other like two drops of water but we had different reflections He was probably a first version of myself but conceived too much in the absoluterdquo Through his work lsquoPortrait of My Dead Brotherrsquo he paid tribute to his brotherAlso Read Octogenarian painter Prafull Dave reflects on taking his canvases online for the first time ever