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Salvador Dalí's first period, described simply as his "early period," includes work executed between the mid teens and 1928. The styles and subject matter of this period do not reflect those of his more celebrated surrealist works of the 1930s. In general, the primary subject matter of Dalí's early period is the landscape of his home in northern Catalonia, Spain.
Images of the picturesque countryside near Figueres, where the artist was born in 1904, as well as images of the seaside town of Cadaques where the Dalí family had a summer home characterize his early work.
Dalí was aware of the Surrealists in Paris and their development of dreamlike images, but he had not yet been introduced to the group and he still had reservations about the quality of their artwork.
Dalí's imagery became more abstract and often grotesque during this period, indicating that he was under the influence of his fellow Catalan Joan Miró. Miró was eleven years older than Dalí and one of the stars of the surrealist group.
Miró's unconventional, childlike imagery had a liberating effect on Dalí. Other artists who influenced Dalí during this period include the cubists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, and the surrealists Max Ernst and Yves Tanguy.
Surrealism, a movement in literature and the visual arts, was founded in 1924 in Paris by André Breton. The surrealists believed that logic had failed humankind, so they turned to the unconscious and dreams in an attempt to transcend the boundaries of reason.
Dalí’s interest in Freud’s psychological theories led him to explore his own fears and fantasies through symbolic images captured on canvas in an ultra-realistic, photographic style. He referred to these paintings as "hand-painted dream photographs".
Dalí's relationship with the other surrealists became troubled and they attempted to expell him from the surrealist group at a "trial" held in Paris in 1934. Dalí sums up his relationship with the group as follows:
"The difference between me and the surrealists is that I am Surrealism."In 1941, Dal’ moved beyond his esoteric, surrealist style in order to make a more universal artistic statement. His interest shifted from personal obsessions to universal themes, and he became fascinated by religion and modern science.
Dal’ summarized this shift by saying that he intended "to become classic," for, "to be a Surealist forever is like spending your life painting nothing but eyes and noses." Dal’ looked back to Classical and Renaissance art for inspiration, while looking forward to the scientific discoveries emerging around him in the 1950s.
Among the works produced during the Classic Period are eighteen large oil paintings, executed between 1948 and 1970, which have been called the "Masterworks" by museum founder A. Reynolds Morse.