Salvador Dalí – La Divine Comédie

Fifteen works from the La Divine Comédie portfolio, 1960

• Artist: Salvador Dalí (Spanish, 1904–1989)
• Medium: Wood engravings in colors on BFK Rives paper
• Dimensions (each sheet): 33 × 26 cm (13 × 10 3/8 in)
• Portfolio: La Divine Comédie 
• Framed: No

This exceptional offering comprises fifteen wood engravings in colors on BFK Rives paper, executed in 1960 as part of Dalí's celebrated illustrated edition of La Divine Comédie — Dante Alighieri's immortal epic poem. Printed on BFK Rives paper — one of the most prestigious and widely used fine art printmaking papers in the world, prized for its exceptional surface quality, archival stability, and ability to render the finest chromatic and tonal nuances — each impression achieves a level of technical refinement and visual richness entirely worthy of its literary source.

The La Divine Comédie portfolio stands as one of the most ambitious, celebrated, and historically significant illustrated book projects of the twentieth century. Originally commissioned by the Italian government in 1950 to mark the 700th anniversary of Dante's birth, the project was ultimately published in 1960 after a decade of intensive work by Dalí, who produced 100 watercolors — one for each canto of the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso — subsequently translated into wood engravings by the master engravers of the woodcut workshop of Raymond Jacquet in Paris. The result is a visual monument of twentieth-century printmaking — a work that brings together the greatest literary imagination of the medieval world and the most audacious visual imagination of the modern era in a dialogue of extraordinary cultural and aesthetic richness.

Each of the fifteen impressions presented here exemplifies the hallucinatory, visionary, and formally inventive language that Dalí brought to his interpretation of Dante's universe — a world of torment, purgation, and transcendence rendered through the full force of Surrealist imagery, classical draftsmanship, and chromatic brilliance. The wood engraving medium — with its precise incised lines, rich tonal contrasts, and capacity for fine chromatic layering — provides an ideal vehicle for the complexity and drama of Dalí's visual interpretation, giving each impression a physical presence and graphic intensity that commands immediate attention.

Works from the La Divine Comédie portfolio are held in the permanent collections of the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and major institutions worldwide. Individual impressions and complete sets regularly achieve strong results at the world's leading auction houses and are among the most sought-after works in Dalí's printed oeuvre.

The works are in very good condition.

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FAQ

Are these original works by Salvador Dalí? Yes. These fifteen impressions are authentic color wood engravings from Dalí's celebrated La Divine Comédie portfolio, executed in 1960 — one of the most historically significant illustrated print projects of the twentieth century.

What printing technique was used? Each work is a color wood engraving on BFK Rives paper — a technically demanding intaglio process in which the image is engraved directly into the end grain of a wooden block, allowing for exceptional precision, fine tonal gradations, and rich chromatic layering. The engravings were executed by the master engravers of the woodcut workshop of Raymond Jacquet in Paris, working from Dalí's original watercolors.

What is the La Divine Comédie portfolio? La Divine Comédie is one of the most ambitious and celebrated illustrated book projects of the twentieth century, originally commissioned by the Italian government in 1950 to mark the 700th anniversary of Dante's birth and published in 1960. Dalí produced 100 watercolors — one for each canto of the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso — subsequently translated into color wood engravings by master engravers in Paris. The complete portfolio comprises 100 impressions and is considered one of the monuments of twentieth-century printmaking.

What is BFK Rives paper? BFK Rives is one of the most prestigious and widely used fine art printmaking papers in the world, produced in France. Prized for its exceptional surface quality, archival stability, and ability to render the finest chromatic and tonal nuances, it is the preferred support of many of the most significant printmakers in art history.

How many works are included in this offering? This offering comprises fifteen wood engravings from the portfolio — each an autonomous and complete composition corresponding to one of the cantos of Dante's Divine Comedy.

What are the dimensions of each piece? Each sheet: 33 × 26 cm (13 × 10 3/8 in)

Are the works framed? No. Each impression is presented unframed.

What is the condition of the works? Very good condition. Full condition report available upon request.