Salvador Dali revered the Old Masters passionately. He advised fledgling artists to "begin by painting like the Renaissance masters; after that, do as you wish, you will always be respected." Dali's veneration of the masters is not only seen through his emulation of their exacting technique, he also paid homage to them by reflecting elements of their works in his. And he emulated their technique and affinity for craftsmanship in his sharp, careful painting style. One of Dali's comments on Old Masters' works and Surrealism is:

...in the painting of the old masters the tendency is to immediately seek out the unconscious, whereas in the surrealist paintings what is immediately sought is the conscious."

In his painting Landscape with Hidden Image of Michelangelo's David, Dali literally turned our vantage point on its head, cleverly camouflaging a full-length image of David by Michelangelo within the rocky landscape - readily discerned with a 180-degree turn of the picture.