Madrid hosted Salvador Dalí’s studies at the Royal Academy of San Fernando. He entered the academy in 1922 after moving from Catalonia, and the experience exposed him to academic drawing, painting, and the artistic circles of Spain’s capital.
While in Madrid, Dalí lived at the Residencia de Estudiantes, a student residence that became an important intellectual and cultural centre. He formed friendships there with figures including Federico García Lorca and Luis Buñuel. These relationships influenced the young artist’s interests in literature, cinema, and avant-garde culture.
Dalí was suspended from the academy in 1926 after declaring that no faculty member was competent to examine him. He did not complete the formal course, but his time in Madrid was crucial to his development and public reputation.
Madrid is sometimes confused with Barcelona in accounts of Dalí’s education because he had earlier studied in Barcelona and exhibited there. The Royal Academy episode specifically belongs to Madrid.