Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí is not only renowned for his surrealist artworks, but he is also famous for his eccentric and vivacious personality. First published in 1948, Dalí shares some of his complexities in his book Fifty Secrets of Magic Craftmanship. One enigma is shared in the section titled The Secret of the Sea Urchin Slumber. Dalí believed that sea urchins have a sedative effect. Following the consumption of three dozen coral red sea urchins, he instructs a four-and-a-half-hour sleep before sitting before a blank canvas to paint. Sea urchins were a delicacy to Dalí and feature in this 1967 print from an original gouache painting.