Cover of the textbook Step Up Gold Exam Trainer

The key answer of exercise 5

The key to exercise solutions in chapter Oral presentation 3 for the textbook Step Up Gold Exam Trainer with authors Philippa Bowen e Denis Delaney from Oxford University Press

Question

A piccoli gruppi, fai una ricerca su un artista del surrealismo. Trova le seguenti informazioni.

Answer

Sample Answer

Surrealist Artist Research: Salvador Dalí

Important Dates in His Life

  • May 11, 1904: Salvador Dalí is born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain.
  • 1922: Dalí moves to Madrid to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.
  • 1929: Dalí collaborates with surrealist poet and writer André Breton and officially joins the Surrealist movement.
  • 1931: Dalí's famous painting "The Persistence of Memory" is completed, featuring melting clocks.
  • 1940s: Dalí and his wife, Gala, move to the United States to escape World War II.
  • 1989: Salvador Dalí dies of heart failure at the age of 84 in Figueres, Spain.

Art Forms He Created

  • Painting: Dalí is renowned for his surrealist paintings, characterized by dreamlike imagery, meticulous detail, and bizarre juxtapositions.
  • Sculpture: Dalí also experimented with sculpture, creating surreal and often provocative three-dimensional works.
  • Drawing and Illustration: He produced numerous drawings and illustrations, showcasing his exceptional draftsmanship and imagination.
  • Film: Dalí collaborated with filmmakers, most notably on the short film "Un Chien Andalou" with director Luis Buñuel, which is considered a surrealist masterpiece.

His Most Famous Works

  • "The Persistence of Memory" (1931): This iconic painting features melting clocks draped over various objects against a barren landscape.
  • "The Elephants" (1948): Dalí's depiction of elongated elephants with spindly legs, carrying obelisks on their backs, is a surreal exploration of space and form.
  • "Swans Reflecting Elephants" (1937): Another masterpiece showcasing Dalí's fascination with distorted reality, where swans on a lake morph into elephants when reflected.
  • "The Metamorphosis of Narcissus" (1937): This painting illustrates the myth of Narcissus, with a double image of a hand holding an egg transforming into a flower.