Le Purgatoire, Canto 22 | Dante's Divine Comedy | Illustrated by Salvador Dalí
This woodcut lithograph is from what is considered Salvador Dalí’s most ambitious project, Dante’s The Divine Comedy. Originally commissioned by the Italian government to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Dante’s birth, the project was eventually abandoned by the Italians, Dali pressed forward over a ten year period to paint 100 original watercolors illustrating the epic poem and finally publishing the suite with Les Heures Claires of Paris in three volumes; 1960, 1962, and 1964. This series of imaginative interpretations represents a masterful convergence of mediev al poetry and Surrealist vision.
To faithfully reproduce Dalí's original watercolors, master engravers hand-carved over 3,500 woodblocks between 1959 and 1963, using up to 35 separate blocks per image to ensure perfect color fidelity. Supervised by Dalí, each lithograph after the original watercolor is printed on premium Rives paper. This unsigned edition is highly coveted for its vibrant pigments and remains a cornerstone of Dalí's graphic legacy.
- Title: Purgatory Canto 22
- Foret's Alternate Title: La Source (The Spring)
- Portfolio: The Divine Comedy
- Category: Limited Edition
- Medium: Woodcut
- Edition: French 1136/4765
- Signature: Unsigned
- Paper size: 10 ¼” x 13”
- Paper Type: BFK Rives
- Publisher: Les Heures Claires, Paris, 1964
- Reference: Field pp. 189-200, Löpsinger 1039-1138