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The untitled piece of art by famous Surrealist has been rediscovered after 75 years. After a series of tests — including infrared photography,signature analysis,and archival research — Nicolas Descharnes,a Dalí scholar,confirmed that the painting was indeed authentic. The work will be on display in Heather James Fine Art Gallery, New York.
Almost 30 years after artist’s death,a forgotten Dalí painting has been found in a private collection. Experts said that the painting was created in Dalí's first months living in Spain in 1932. Material analysis dating the pigments used to 1932 and the manufacture of the painting’s stretcher in Spain confirm this.
"With a forgery,there is always a mistake you can track somewhere. This one,no mistake," Nicolas Descharnes,a Dalí scholar,told Artnet.
Promisingly,the work contains two recurring motifs that Dalí began using in 1932: a window looking in on an interior space and a protruding pole.
The painting is signed "Gala Salvador Dalí," which was the artist’s way of paying tribute to his wife Gala,who was some ten years his senior and a stabilizing influence on his life,said Descharnes. It’s seemingly inspired by Dalí and Gala’s shared home in Spain where they lived from 1932 to 1982. This house is now a museum open to the public.
The painting appears to show a flagpole or boat mast emerging from a small window,motifs that appear in other works Dalí made around the same time,such as the painting Morphological Echo(1934−36).
Because the piece is untitled,and Dalí had a habit of renaming his works,Descharnes was unable to definitively establish its exhibition history. It seems likely,however,that it was included in one of two shows the artist held that year at Galerie Pierre Colle in Paris,where the records list some untitled paintings.
The painting is fairly sparse,something that is uncharacteristic for the artist’s works. However,this adds to the belief that the work is not forged,as Descharnes said,"The forger wouldn’t leave the painting without anything on the ground,because the forger needs to make a painting that is attractive."
The work has not been recognised by the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation,but has been registered in the Dalí archive managed by Descharnes. The gallery confirmed it had received inquiries on the painting but would not disclose the asking price.
Salvador Dali with his muse,1942. Photo: Philippe Halsman
Two drama-filled Salvador Dalí paintings,sold by the artist direct to an Argentinian countess in the 1930s,have been also rediscovered and are to appear at auction in the UK.
Dali painted both "Gradiva" and "Maison pour erotomane" around 1931 and 1932,respectively,during the height of the surrealism
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movement. The first depicts a semi-nude woman representing the mythical figure of the same name,while the second features a Catalan landscape
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in a dream-like scene,according to Sotheby’s.
Salvador Dalí's Gradiva, 1931. Photo: Sotheby's
Salvador Dali's, Maison pour Erotomane. Photo: Sotheby's
Both works are highly charged and packed with symbolism
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Symbolism is an art movement that has been reflected in painting, literature and music. It emerged in the 1870s-1880s in France, later spread to Belgium, Norway, and the Russian Empire. It reached the peak of popularity at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Symbolism is characterized by sadness, introspection and understatement: as if an artist came to quiet despair, but he was too shy to talk about these feelings, so he painted them.
. The earliest,entitled Gradiva(1931), depicts a mythological figure and character from a 1903 novel by Wilhelm Jensen,in which a young archaeologist becomes obsessed by a female figure shown in a Roman bas-relief. Gradiva was also the nickname Dalí gave to his wife,Gala.
The other work is entitled Maison Pour Érotomane(1932), a weird,hallucinatory,work which shows a cello,horse and car apparently emerging from a rock. In the foreground is a man and woman who represent Dalí and his wife.
Two rediscovered masterpieces by Salvador Dalí were painted for and acquired by Countess de Cuevas de Vera,nicknamed Tota,who divided her time between Buenos Aires and France and became friends with many artists and cultural figures active in 1920s and 30s Paris,including Luis Buñuel,with whom she had an affair,as well as Dalí, Picasso,and Jean Cocteau.
These important works by the Spanish surrealist,both have an estimated guide price of £1,200,000−1,800,000,were sold at auction by London’s Sotheby’s in the Surrealist Art Evening Sale on February 28th.
Left: Tota Cueva de Vera on the porch of her home. Photo: John Phillips / Sotheby’s
According to results of Surrealist Art Evening Sale,the painting "Gradiva" was sold for £2,7 million,at the same time "Maison Pour Érotomane" took the price of £3,2 million. Whereas they were both expected to sell for up to $2.5 million.
The artist’s record at auction,according to the Artnet price database,is £12.48 million($21.74 million), for Portrait de Paul Éluard(1929), which sold at Sotheby’s London in 2001.
Title illustration: Salvador Dali. The untitled.
Based on material Artnet,The Guardian,Sotheby’s official site.
