An undisputed master of Surrealism, Dalí also drew deeply on the artistic traditions of Spain, Italy, and the Low Countries throughout his career. This book places his oeuvre in dialogue with twenty-seven paintings and works on paper from much earlier generations, revealing connections between Dalí and artists such as Albrecht Dürer, El Greco, Diego Velázquez and Orazio Gentileschi.

Seven essays consider Dalí’s engagement with art history and his place within that tradition. Among them, Frederick Ilchman explores his fascination with Italian Renaissance masters, especially Leonardo da Vinci; Jennifer Cohen examines the artist’s lifelong dedication to taking inspiration from the past; Claire Howard situates Dalí within a wider tradition of the fantastic, from Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Breugel to the 1930s; Julia M. Vázquez considers Dalí’s Spanishness, his relationship to portraiture; and William Jeffett offers concluding reflections on time and mortality.

Lavishly illustrated, this publication presents an unexpected view of Dalí—an artist whose avant-garde disruptions were inseparable from his devotion to the past.