Salvador dali is said to be one of the best representative artists of surrealism. what characteristics are evident in his work that are surrealist in nature

I believe the correct answer is the exploration of dreams and unconscious, presenting sexuality and bizarre images.

Salvador Dali was a Spanish-Catalan artist who became part of Surrealism movement in the late 1920s, but was expelled in 1934. Never the less, he was famous for his surreal art which was characterized with exploration of the dream and unconsciousness as a valid form of reality (surrealistic artists took inspiration from psychologist Sigmund Freud's writings), depiction of images of sexuality, and depiction of bizarre images. Dali claimed that the melting watches in his famous painting “The Persistence of Memory” came from self-induced hallucinations.

Salvador Dali is said to be one of the best representative artists of Surrealism because he have many characteristics which makes him different for his work.

The main Characteristic of Salvador Dali is to exploring subconscious images which are evident in his work that are Surrealist in nature.

Hence, Salvador Dali is said to be one of the best representative artists of Surrealism.

Learn more about Salvador Dali, refer:

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relief sculpture - images are set against a flat background.

a coin is a good example: the inscription, the date, and the figure are slightly raised above a flat surface. the ancient egyptians sometimes carved figures into a flat surface.  

pro: they take significantly less time to make and do not require as much tools or skills as free-standing

cons: not nearly as realistic, as it is not fully 3-d, and does not have the details that a free-standing one does.

freestanding sculptures (also called  carved in the round) are not attached to any  background.   they are 3-dimensional  and fully rendered.