Salvador Dali

Reading an article that mentions Dali thought of himself more as a writer than a visual artist, and that he was a voracious reader with appx. 4500 volumes at the time of his death, but of course, has no footnote. A dallying google revealed nothing. Ideas?

http://penguinrandomhouse.ca/hazlitt/feature/page-four-dali-journal

Would a copy of Dali: A life in books be helpful?

Dali's library looks to be housed at the Centre for Dalinian Studies. The books are included in their online catalogue here, but I can't see any way to separate the private library from the modern scholarship.

There was a 2004 exhibition titled Dali and his Books, and a promotional piece for the exhibit:

The personal library of Salvador Dali, which is kept at the Center for Dali Studies, at the Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation, is composed of books concerning various subjects: art, architecture, literature, philosophy, politics, history, alchemy, medicine, physics, mathematics, biology, biochemistry, natural sciences, dictionaries, and encyclopedias. Dali was a fanatic reader. From his adolescence, he was an anarchist and a romantic. Dali's books, which reached our hands, number around 4,337, 228 of which have his notes and drawings in them.

Teixidor, Montse Aguer. Dali and his Books. Sept. 2009.

number around 4,337, 228 of which have his notes and drawings in them.

At first I read that as over 4 millions, and was in more awe of Dali than I already am. But I see it was simply a poor editing choice on part of the authors, putting those 2 numbers together in the sentence that way.

I wouldn't envy the person cataloging that library.

Got an email back following my request from the Centre d'Estudis Dalinians. Basically, a catalog or even just a list is unavailable, and unsortable through their catalog (WHY!?) though we are welcome to do research at the Center. *Sigh*

Then I wonder how Teixidor came up with such a precise figure: 4,337.

It's a pity there's no definitive list. In another search during the week I came across this:

Dalí had certain interests which were so intense that his research became rather manic. His interest in psychiatry resulted in him ferociously reading Freud’s work as he wanted to know everything about this topic. Similarly, when he was asked to reproduce a Vermeer, his research on the Grand Seigneur of art was shown to become excessive. He went to the extent of finding the artist’s 10 favourite books, read every book that Vermeer had read on perspective, microscopically studied the way Vermeer applied his paint, and absorbed everything he could about the Jesuit ritualism of Vermeer’s period.

Murphy, Caroline. "The link between artistic creativity and psychopathology: Salvador Dalí." Personality, Psychopathology, and Original Minds. Spec. issue of Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 46, Issues 8 (June, 2009), 765-774.

The Museum's 2009 annual report mentions a catalogue titled 'Dallibres' which accompanies the exhibition. It looks to contain the list of the books which were put on show, which was only a selection, and essays concerning Dalí as both writer and reader. Unfortunately I can't find a copy of it.

Edit: Just for reference, the catalogue is mentioned on page 54 here, but I think 'Dallibres' is also a journal.

That's an interesting spelling: idiosyncratic? Dallibres and not Dalibres or Dalilibres ....

Ah silly me, I should have checked the museum's online store. They have the catalogue available for sale in what looks to be a facsimile edition. Mystery solved. It doesn't help in acquiring a complete list but could be a stepping stone.