"Dali" by Taschen is a visually stunning exploration of the life and work of one of the most iconic artists of the 20th century, Salvador Dali. It’s a book for superfans. In addition to the artwork the book provides a comprehensive overview of Dali's career, from his early years as a Surrealist provocateur to his later, more introspective works. It features full-color reproductions of Dali's surreal and often bizarre world. Packed with insightful commentary and analysis by art experts, they shed light on Dali's influences, techniques, and the deeper meaning behind his work. They also dive into Dali's personal life, including his eccentricities, controversies, and the impact of historical events on his art. This book is a combination of beautiful imagery and informative text which makes it a valuable addition to any art lover's library. ( )

As much as I enjoy Dali’s artwork, this book was not very good… Most of the problems stem from the fact that they shrunk the book down to half-page size, so the text and images became very small and very little of the detail in the artwork could be enjoyed. It did not help matters that I found the writing style to be rather obtuse and impossible to become engaged in. I’m sure Dali had a fascinating life, but the presentation was so subpar that I don’t feel like I got much out of reading this book. ( )

The ultimate Dali collection. Don't know what happened to my copy. I received this as a Christmas gift in high school and I remember poring through this book for hours. ( )

Welcome to the daliverse. This book contains so many pictures that now I am suprised if I see any Dali artwork I can not recognize.
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This is the best collection of Dali's paintings I have ever found. It has dozens of massive full color, full page prints. It does not contain all of them, but several hundred works are represented. To gain a deep understanding of Dali's symbolism you will also need to read supplemental works. You can gain some quick tidbits from the footnotes and commentary but this is largely a visual coffee table style volume. However, like any true surrealist, his art can be appreciated purely aesthetically, with little interpretation of the striking symbols.

You will find several of the large works missing from this collection, but it would be difficult to imagine a more comprehensive single volume.

It is easy to see that his work progressed in stages, from hyper-realism in studies and sketches to phalanxes of surrealism throughout the early and later paintings. Influences arise from Cubism and the various locales he visited. The ever-present Gala remains the worshipful motif. Bleak landscapes and mental anguish belie the weird mustache and bread sculptures. It was very difficult to pinpoint the line between genius and insanity in most of the works, until I read up on the analyses and meanings behind the elephant obelisks and bleeding saints. Even when perusing his autobiographies, you may struggle to grasp some of his ridiculous ideas. Undeniably though, beneath the eccentricity, verifiable brilliance frequently blossomed. This is a massive tome of elegant prints, well-worth the cover price if you are at all interested in one of the most enigmatic and alluring artists of all time. ( )