An interesting book that not only covers Dali's familiar work but also shows a couple of less well-known sides to him, those of sculpture and of non-surreal representational art.

Another fascinating, beautiful Taschen book about the life and art of Salvador Dalí. More slender than another Taschen book about the artist that I read recently, it covers much of the same ground as that other volume. But there are a few plates---large, colorful, and gorgeous---in this volume that aren't in the other. A good basic primer on the artist. Because of Taschen, I've become fascinated by Dalí and am a fan of his artwork.

I don't pretend to have any great knowledge of art. I fall into that category of, "I know what I like when I see it" crowd. Having seen a few examples of Dali's work at various museums around the world, I tend to enjoy its boldness, vivid colors, and usually clear, almost picture-like clarity of images. But until reading this book (not just look at the pictures) I didn't realize just how much lay behind the limp watches, phallic symbols, and other famous images of his work.

I still can't decide if Dali was brilliant, insane, or simply a huge egomaniac with a brush, but it really doesn't matter. He had a huge impact on the art world of the 20th century and I thought this book, while not intended to be a complete biography of the man, served adequately to give a good taste of him and even provided some insight into his character. And if you just want to look at the artwork, that is beautifully presented here.