Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Apparition de Dité - La Divina Comedia de Dante Alighieri — Infierno,

SALVADOR DALÍ (1904–1989)

APPARITION OF DITÉ — APARICIÓN DE DITE (LUCIFER)

Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy — Inferno, Canto XXXIV

Date: 1959–1963
Edition: Joseph Foret / Les Heures Claires, Paris.
Technique: Original color woodcut, made from a watercolor by Salvador Dalí.
Support: Japanese paper, according to the provided data, with no visible watermarks.
Dimensions: 33 × 26 cm.

Cataloged work:

* Michler & Löpsinger, Salvador Dalí. Catalogue Raisonné of Prints, Volume II, reference No. 1072.
* Albert Field, The Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dalí, pages 189–200.

Description:

Magnificent surrealist composition by Salvador Dalí, part of his monumental graphic interpretation of the Divine Comedy, one of the artist's most important and acclaimed editorial realizations.

The work illustrates Canto XXXIV of Dante Alighieri's Inferno, the culminating episode of the descent into the underworld, in which Dante and Virgil reach the depths of the ninth circle and behold the presence of Lucifer, lord of the infernal realm.

Dalí transforms this vision into a composition of extraordinary symbolic and spiritual strength, featuring a monumental spectral figure wrapped in ample white robes, whose presence dominates the entire scene.

The smaller human figures, rendered in blueish, reddish, and ochre tones, create a powerful contrast with the imposing central apparition. The dark background, formed by masses of rocks with abrupt profiles, accentuates the mysterious and supernatural atmosphere.

The extraordinary elegance of the drapery, the stylization of the figures, and the delicate chromatic treatment constitute an excellent example of Dalí's ability to reinterpret the great episodes of world literature through his unmistakable surrealist language.

The composition belongs to the monumental editorial project developed between 1959 and 1963, for which roughly 3,500 wood matrices were prepared for the one hundred illustrations of the Divine Comedy.

Copy presented on Japanese paper, with wide margins, natural edges and no visible watermarks.

Conservation status: Shows slight signs of age and small marks in the margins, visible in the photographs.

Notable graphic work by Salvador Dalí, cataloged and of special interest to collectors of surrealism, bibliophiles, and large illustrated editions of the 20th century
Provenance: collection linked to Enrique Sabater