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Dali himself styles his self-portrait as "an anti-psychological self-portrait, instead of painting the soul, or the inner of one-self, to paint solely the appearance, the cover, my soul's glove. This glove of my soul can be eaten and is even a little sharp, like high-bred game; therefor ants appear together with the fried bacon. As the most generous of all painters I continuously offer myself as food and thus give our era the most delicious delicacies." Dal’ painted this self-portrait during his eight-year-exile in the United States, where he had fled from the Spanish civil war. The, sometimes, childlike enthusiasm and the drive of the American society appealed to Dal’ and he had a most productive period there. Under this influence he appeared to reverse his "paranoid-critical" method. Now he painted more from the inside out, as his comment on his self-portrait indicates.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK: Dali painted this self-portrait during his eight-year-exile in the United States, where he had fled from the Spanish civil war. The, sometimes, childlike enthusiasm and the drive of the American society appealed to Dali and he had a most productive period there. Under this influence he appeared to reverse his "paranoid-critical" method. Now he painted more from the inside out, as his comment on his self-portrait indicates.

ABOUT THE ART PERIOD: Dali (1904-1989) sublimated his life in his art of painting. Relying on great craftsmanship, acquired in all sorts of art experiments, he lifted surrealism, in an inimitable self-willed manner, to exceptional heights. He photographed, as it were, associatively what was enacted in his mind. Incited by, at the time, new psychological insights he tried to fix his subconscious with images, and to visualize his dreams in all their inscrutable symbolism. It was for this purpose that he developed his famous "paranoid-critical" method. To us, one dimensional mortal souls, only the paintings and other expressions remain as fascinating witnesses to a literally unbelievably intense and active life. Perhaps we are so drawn to them because not only do they allow us to have a look inside Dali’s subconscious, but they also are a mirror reflecting our own souls.