Original Salvador Dali Divine Comedy Woodcuts


	The Authenticity of a work that you are purchasing is always a consideration. Since this site is dedicated to "The Divine Comedy," illustrated by Salvador Dali, we will keep our primary focus of authenticity on this suite. So much has been written about Salvador Dali's Divine Comedy that some of the facts have been intermingled with myth. All of the Divine Comedy woodcuts that we sell have been authenticated by either the Dali Archives (the repository for Salvador Dali works), or as in the case of the pencil signed Divine Comedy woodcuts, by the publisher with a pencil signature on the verso (back) of each woodcut .
	History The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri remains today one of the pillars upon which the European literary tradition has been built. Originally titled simply Commedia, Dante's masterpiece was written at the end of his life and finished just before his death in 1321. Presented here is Salvador Dali's interpretation of the wonderful and intense imagery that Dante formed through spinning a web of words both exciting and exhilarating. To celebrate the 700th anniversary of Dante's birth, the government of Italy planned to issue a special edition of The Divine Comedy. For this issue, Dali created 101 watercolors between 1951 and 1960. In 1954, La Libreria della Stato published a brochure with seven of the paintings reproduced full size as lithographs, together with sample pages of the text. The prints are 16 1/2 inches x 11 inches with narrow margins. Due to the opposition these prints created, the Italian government dropped the project and postage stamps were issued instead. Several years later, Joseph Foret, in Paris, who had previously published other Dali suites such as Don Quichotte, started production of the prints by wood engraving. Master engravers worked from 1959 - 1963 to carve 3500 separate wood blocks for the 100 prints. The Divine Comedy project was then taken over and completed by Jean Estrade of Les Heures Claires. (See below for editions)
	French Editions The French and German editions of The Divine Comedy were both published in France. Joseph Foret Edition Joseph Foret is responsible for the deluxe edition of the Divine Comedy. The Deluxe edition of the Divine Comedy consists of a total of 33 sets. Twenty-one of the thirty-three sets are on Japon paper, the other twelve are on BKF Rives paper. Out of the 12 sets, 2 were for the artist and the other 10 were for named persons. The sets consisted of the following: Set "I" had 9 original watercolors by Dali and 3 inked plates, a suite on silk of the copper plate engravings, a suite on Rives of the copper plate engravings, a suite on silk of the woodcut engravings, and a suite of decompositions of one illustration. Set "II and III" had 6 original watercolors by Dali and 1 inked plates, a suite on silk of the copper plate engravings, a suite on silk of the woodcut engravings, and a suite of decompositions of one illustration. Set "IV-VIII" had 3 original watercolors by Dali and 1 inked plates, a suite on silk of the copper plate engravings, a suite on silk of the woodcut engravings, and a suite of decompositions of one illustration. Set "IX-XXI" had 1 original watercolors by Dali, a suite on silk of the copper plate engravings, a suite on silk of the woodcut engravings, and a suite of decompositions of one illustration. These suites were presented in six satin-covered slipcase boxes. Each "set" also contained a color lithograph of the Danse or Les Servantes (1960), published by Foret but not part of the book edition, a photographic portrait of the artist by P. Almasy, a print on Lyon Satin attached to an illustration and three copper plate engravings. Jean Estrade - Les Heures Claires The edition most familiar with the market is the French edition of The Divine Comedy published by Jean Estrade of Les Heures Claires, Paris. The total edition size is 4765 sets. Due to some of the ssets having twos suites, there are a total of 5346 prints of each woodcut. The sets contained the following: Sets "1-15" had a suite on Rives of the woodcut engravings and1 inked plate, a suite on Rives of the copper plate engravings, a suite on Rives of the woodcut engravings, and a suite of decompositions of one illustration (being a total of six sets of decompositions, one for each slipcase). The early sets of the Divine Comedy were issued in 12 slipcases boxes rather than six. The extra boxes held the extra suites of prints and decompositions. I have seen both twelve uniform size boxes and also six thicker than regular size boxes and six boxes that are about half the thickness of the regular boxes. Sets "16-165" had a suite on Rives of the woodcut engravings and a suite on Rives of the copper plate engravings, a suite on Rives of the woodcut engravings, and a suite of decompositions of one illustration (being a total of six sets of decompositions, one for each slipcase). Sets "166-515" had a suite on Rives of the woodcut engravings and a suite of decompositions of one illustration (being a total of six sets of decompositions, one for each slipcase). Sets "866-4765" had a suite on Rives of the woodcut engravings. Each volume is presented in a slipcase. Two volumes for enferno in cream slipcases with red swirling accent lines, two volumes for purgatory in cream slipcases with purple swirling accent lines, Two volumes for paradise in cream slipcases with blue swirling accent lines. The woodcuts and French text are loose. I have seen some sets where a master binder has bound the sets in fine leather with gilt tooling (this binding was not as issued but can be very suave nonetheless. As for the watermarks, you will find the following three instances. The woodcut can bear a BFK Rives watermark, a Les Heures Claires watermark, or no watermark at all. The watermarks appeared only twice per sheet of four woodcuts, two out of every four are without a watermark. German Edition: The German edition of The Divine Comedy was published by Les Heures Claires and was limited to 1000 sets. Out of the 1000 sets only 386 or so were completed. Each print was matted in a paper sleeve. The prints bear watermarks, (two of every four) and the only difference between these woodcuts and the regular French edition is the addition of a block signature. Each print, with the exception of Enferno 1 and Purgatory 9, which already bear a plate signature have an added block signature in the image area. It is not clear whether this edition is in addition to or part of the 5346 mentioned above. I have seen many of the higher tirage number French sets with varying numbers of Block signed prints. I have seen some sets with all of the prints bearing a block signature (with the exceptions noted above), I have also seen French sets with as few as five or six block signed prints in place of the unsigned prints. Most of the French sets issued, were issued unsigned or without the additional block signature. Pencil Signed Editions: There is a lot of confusion with regards to Pencil Signed Divine Comedy prints. We offer the following information and guidelines: UNACCEPTABLE PENCIL SIGNED PRINTS - A print without a block signature cannot have a pencil signature - If the woodcut does not have a block signature, it cannot have a black pencil signature. It is not recognized as authentic. - Pencil signatures on the individual mat sleeves are unacceptable. - Prints with "Eprueve D'artiste" under the image at the left. The preposition of de would not be capitalized and the correct abbreviation would be EA, not ED. - Prints with a pencil signature on the left and EA on the right are not recognized as being authentic. - Lithographs measuring 20 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches on unbranded paper have forged signatures. - Lithographs measuring 25 5/8 x 19 1/4 inches on unbranded paper bear forged signatures. ACCEPTABLE SIGNED PRINTS The bottom line is this, an acceptable signed print (Whether in black pencil or colored pencil) should be accompanied by both a provenance (history) and some for of authentication. Acceptable authentication is a letter from The Dali Archives, Robert Descharnes, or a pencil signature verso by either the publisher (Jean Estrade) or Albert Field. The list above is not complete and should not be taken as an absolute that these are the only groups who perform acceptable authentications. Know what you are purchasing and ask questions. It is the sellers job to make you feel comfortable with your purchase. Feel free to give us a call - we are happy to tell you if a print is okay based on the recognized editions. We are not recognized experts, nor do we claim to be, but we have bought and sold more Divine Comedy prints than most people will ever see. If we are unsure or feel you would benefit from an authentication, we will forward you to the recognized expert of our choice where you can pay for an authentication of your work.

French Editions