Salvador Dali, Heaven Canto 25, Mid 20th Century, Engraving

Divine Comedy Heaven Canto 25. This work takes a watercolor of Dali. It represents the entry in the paradise of a chosen one. Angels are placed all around the chosen one we recognize them thanks to their wings and halos.

In 1950 the Italian government commissioned Dali to illustrate Dante Alighieri’s (1265-1321) Divina Commedia (1307) for a publication to mark the 700th anniversary of Dante’s birth.Dali made 101 watercolours (1950 - 1959) illustrating each of the 100 cantos of Dante’s masterpiece plus one title page. But the Italian public was indignant that a Spaniard was to illustrate the work by their great national poet, it had to be done by an Italian.Dali then presented his 101 watercolours to the French printer Jean Forêt, who agreed to publish the Divina Commedia text in French with Dali's illustrations. To this end, the watercolours needed be made suitable for printing.It took 50 months (April 1959 - November 1963) to engrave the about 3500 woodblocks: on average 35 blocks were needed to render the rich colour palette of each of the 101 watercolours.
In contrast to woodcuts, where cuts are made along the grain of the wood, wood engravings are made in the end grain of a woodblock allowing to create thin delicate lines, as well as large coloured areasThe work was published in 1970 in a print run of 4765 copies at the publishing house Les Heures Claires. The complete set consists of 12 volumes: 2 for each of the three parts Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso and 6 full sets of decompositions.

Dali is a leading artist see a genius of the XXth century. He is known for his independence to the imagination and the right to madness. This atypical personality is in constant pursuit of the irrational. Dali is an artist of surrealism, a movement that focuses on the notion of dreams, reason and thoughts.

The paper is watermarked "BRK Rives" which allows to authenticate it.
Sight measurements : W 7,87 inch x H 10,23 inch.