Salvador Dali "The Flatterer," Illustration to Dante's "Divine Comedy"

Item Details

An original, multi colored, wood engraving, by the most infamous of surrealists, Salvador Dali (1904-1989) entitled ‘The Flatterer,’ and part of Dali’s landmark Divine Comedy Suite which illustrates the famous epic poem by Dante Alighieri. This incredible print is watermarked, presumably by the publisher, to the bottom left hand corner and was printed in an extremely limited edition of 25, in which it is the twelfth print pulled. The print is pencil signed by Dali himself at the bottom right hand corner. The flatterer depicts a scene from the Hell Canto, wherein Dante stares upward, bemused, in awe of this giant garish figure who’s stagnated in hellish discomfort. This strange figure’s nose prop has stabbed right through his own chin, and there is a rock balanced atop his head, what’s more he’s sitting atop a pedestal where his foolishness may be cruelly observed. This print, and the suite of which it is a part are truly a feat of wood engraving and printmaking in general. Originally Dali was commissioned by the Italian government to create a series of 100 illustrations to commemorate Dante’s 700th birthday. The commission was called off and Dali carried out the series himself handing over the original watercolors to a pair of wood engravers who spent the next five years carving 3,500 blocks of wood to ingeniously carry out a faithful reproduction of the original watercolors. This print truly looks like a watercolor. The series is some of the most important work Dali ever completed. The print is framed in a gold toned composite frame, with a single white, gold bordered, mat to edge. Paper Size: 13’h x 10.25’w
(Viahttp://www.openculture.com/2012/06/salvador_dalis_101_illustrations_of_dantes_divine_comedy.html &http://www.jewelersweb.com/?page=inventoryitem&itemnumber=333912)

Condition

Frame backing has been removed, but this is of very little consequence.

Dimensions

Item #

13CIN111-007