Salvador Dali: Conquest of the Irrational

As a college art major I developed a distaste for Dali and his art, even referring to him as a "pimp" in an essay. I was turned off by his commercialism and his overly-polished style. But over the years my opinion began to shift, and the major retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art has completely renovated my appreciation for the man and his art. This huge and handsome tome is the catalogue for the Philly retrospective, and includes hundreds of color images along with insights into the thought behind the imagery. The book takes you through his youthful experiments in post-impressionism and cubism (there are a few works you'd swear were by Picasso!), into his affiliation with Surrealism, his development of his personal "paranoiac-critical" method, and his later interests in physics and conversion to Catholicism. The middle section of the book and exhibit includes hundreds of his best-known and most widely-admired paintings, but surprises abound in the early and later sections, with works most people never knew he created. What struck me most in the show and the book was how thoroughly dedicated Dali was to his art, and how intellectually involved his work was. His draughtsmanship was also so acute as to defy belief. I realize now that I was sold so completely on his posture as an eccentric personality, that I lost sight of the power of his art. But this show and book reveal how truly special and significant Dali was as an artist, art theorist, and explorer of the hinterlands of the mind and soul.

After collecting, selling and trading Dali art works for more than 30 years, Mr. Robert Descharnes, one of Dali's past secretaries, has outdone himself in this magnificent book. Without a doubt it will become a collectors classic and a must for any serious Dali admirer. Well worth its price in gold!!!!!

This book is the definitive look at Dali. I own a few other of his books but this one blows the out of the water. The only negative aspect about the book really comes down to my opinion. Some of my favorite paintings are fitted onto a page with 3 others making them a little difficult to see the extreme detail. While others get their own page but in my humble opinion didn't deserve it. While reading or just skimming through the paintings its awesome all the way through. The book is in chronological order so you can see his progress throughout his life. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, even if you don't like Dali's style, there is so much in here that you'll find something. I've spent dozens of hours looking through it, finding something new each time.

This book is a "must" for anyone who wants to understand the principles and themes found in Dali's works. Ades is one of the formost Dalinian scholars. Her book analyzes many of his most popular paintings and will assist the reader in understanding these as well as works not included in her book.