Salvador Dali

Date: 1931
Salvador Dali is one of the most famous painters of the 20th century. He is born on 11-05-1904 in Figueres Spain.
He gained most of his fame during his "surrealistic period". This was between 1929 and 1940. During this time he created paintings that weren't realistic but he tried to portray his dreams for example. A lot of painters tried to achieve this during this age. One of the reasons was the completely different view on time and space that was initiated by scientist like Albert Einstein. 
In 1931 Dali painted "La persistencia de la memoria" or in English "The persistence of memory". You can view the painting by clicking the link. The painting contains a somewhat depressing landscape with melting clocks. These melting clocks are a symbol for losing the meaning of time. Like in a dream for example, where you have no idea if time moves slow or quickly.
In 1940 Dali escaped World War II by moving to the United States. He lived there until 1955 and then returned to Spain. There he had his more classical period and painted more realistic paintings.
Dali died in 1989 (aged 84) in Figueres. 
Picture
Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres also holds the crypt where Dalí is buried. Picture by Erin Silversmith.
Did you know?
According to Dali, his famous pointy mustache functions as an antenna to receive inspiration from space. 
Location:
Figueres, Spain. Close to the French Border
Get more info on Wikipedia.