Extra

The following is taken from:
Descharnes, R. and Neret, G. DALI. 2006. China: Taschen.

The great catastrophe that was impending in Dali's own life happened on 10 June 1982, when Gala (his wife) died, leaving him alone. Dali tried to commit suicide by dehydrating. How serious was the attempt? He was convinced that dehydration and return to a pupal state would assure him of immortality. He had once read that the inventor of the microscope had seen minute, seemilngly dead creatures through the lens of his invention - creatures that were in a state of extreme dehydration and which could be restored to life with a drop of water.

Dali concluded (or at least liked the idea) that it was possible to live on beyond the point of dehydration. What he had not forseen, though, was that, having consumed nothing for so long, it became impossible for him to swallow anything at all. From then till his dying day he was fed liquid nutrients through a tube up his nose.