Salvador Dali’s ‘Portrait of My Dead Brother’
How Dali’s dead brother influenced his artistic repertoire
Source: Wikimedia
Salvador Dali was one of the most illustrious artists of the 20th century. He was a Spanish surrealist who became famous for his outlandish paintings and his precise craftsmanship.
Although his popularity exceeded well beyond the standards of that era, his eccentric behavior drew more attention than his artwork.
Researcher Meredith Etherington-Smith studied his eccentric mindset by digging into his relationship with his family.
Dali’s Childhood
Even before Dali was born, a mishap in his family was instrumental in shaping his future personality. Just nine months and ten days before Dali’s birth, his elder brother succumbed to stomach inflammation at the age of twenty-one months.
Dali’s parents were so crestfallen by the death of their elder son that they believed his deceased son had been reincarnated as ‘Dali’. Dali was named after his deceased brother Salvador. Thus, Salvador Dali inherited his name from his father (Lou Salvador) as well as his dead sibling (Salvador Dali).
Dali always saw himself as a shadow of his elder sibling and as a child felt he was a mere replacement of his brother.
