£1,400 - £1,800
Salvador Dali Limited Edition Titled "Exploding Raphaelesque Head"
9359 - Limited edition by Salvador Dali titled "Exploding Raphaelesque Head" There are only 89 in this rare edition worldwide. It is supplied with a signed certificate of authenticity (signed by the Master Printer) This superb, limited edition was published to the highest standard and is in mint condition. It is framed in a bespoke frame and mounted. NOTE: Supplied with a replacement valuation for £1850 along with biographical details on the artist and the image (Free of charge). This rare very high quality Limited Edition Print on paper was published with light-fast inks to BS1006 standard onto acid-free, calcium carbonate-buffered stock, mould-made from 100% cotton. Following the atomic explosion over Hiroshima in 1945, Dali painted a number of fragmented heads and figures. Some of the shapes that form the head in this painting are solid and phallic shaped - inspired by rhinoceros horns. The upper area of the painting, with the halo and brown clouds resembles photographs of atomic explosions. The female face, with its tender expression and thin halo, is recognisable as the face of a Madonna by Raphael. Dali was a great admirer of renaissance Old Masters, Da Vinci and Raphael to be specific. The skull section in this work is based upon the inside of the dome of the Pantheon building in Rome. Dali has fragmented the head to show how the sense of order from the past, illustrated by the balance and reason of a classical icon, has been shattered by the advent of nuclear weapons. The motif of the shattered head was a common one amongst artists in the post-war years. This reflects the emotional turmoil of a period when nuclear war seemed like a reality, following the use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this context, the delicate halo of the Madonna now suggests a nuclear mushroom cloud and her expression, with eyes downcast in prayer, seems particularly appropriate.. H: 140cm W: 110cm D: 8cm
