The Tragic Obsession of Paul Éluard, Gala, and Salvador Dalí
Poet involved
What happened
The French Surrealist poet Paul Éluard traveled to Spain with his charismatic Russian wife, Gala, to visit the young, eccentric painter Salvador Dalí. Gala and Dalí fell instantly and passionately in love, prompting Gala to permanently abandon Éluard and her daughter to become Dalí's lifelong muse, manager, and legal wife. Remarkably, Éluard maintained an amicable relationship with the couple, and he and Gala continued an intermittent sexual relationship and extensive correspondence for decades.
Literary impact
This extraordinary romantic fracture catalyzed an explosion of Surrealist art and literature; Éluard channeled his profound heartbreak into some of the most beautiful love poetry of the 20th century, including 'Capitale de la douleur'. Gala's transition from Éluard to Dalí bridged the literary world of French Surrealist poetry with the visual arts, redefining the avant-garde movement.
Source: Wikipedia
