Salvador Dali's Surrealist Artwork to Be Auctioned
Believed Lost by the Publisher After Being Held in Their Possession
Expected Sale Price Exceeds 50 Million KRW
A piece of artwork that was sold for 150 pounds (approximately 280,000 KRW) in the United Kingdom has been revealed to be an authentic work by Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali, drawing significant attention. On July 31, Yonhap News, citing the BBC and other sources, reported that in 2023, an anonymous art dealer purchased a piece from a house in Cambridge, UK, and later discovered it was a genuine Dali.
This artwork is a watercolor measuring 29 cm in width and 38 cm in height. The art dealer later learned that the piece was in fact Dali's original "Vecchio Sultano," which had previously appeared at a Sotheby's auction in the 1990s. Earlier, in the 1960s, Dali had been commissioned by Italian millionaire couple Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto to create a series of 500 pieces depicting scenes from the Middle Eastern folktale collection Arabian Nights. However, only 100 pieces were actually completed. Of these 100 works, half were inherited by the couple's daughter, Cristina, who was also Dali's goddaughter, while the other half, which had been held by the publisher, were either damaged or lost.
The Cheffins auction house in Cambridge estimated that this piece was one of those lost by the publisher. The work has been authenticated by Dali expert Nicolas Descharnes and will be auctioned at Cheffins on October 23. The expected sale price is 30,000 pounds (approximately 55,300,000 KRW). The auction house stated, "It is extremely rare for ownership information to disappear in the modern art world, so this piece is an important rediscovery for Dali researchers," adding, "It also reveals a different side of Dali."
Who is Salvador Dali, the Master of Spanish Surrealism?
Dali, born in 1904 in the small town of Figueres in Catalonia, Spain, became a master of surrealism because of his parents. Before Dali was born, his parents lost their first son, and in their grief, they believed Dali was the reincarnation of their deceased child. This left Dali with psychological scars, leading to guilt, obsession, paranoia, and symptoms of duality or multiplicity, which are associated with schizophrenia.
As a result, Dali longed to be recognized as his true self. He expressed this desire through all sorts of eccentric and deviant behaviors: screaming and laughing uncontrollably, putting a bat covered in ants in his mouth, pretending to be a king by wearing a cape and crown, and spraying perfume made from goat droppings?such bizarre acts constantly drew attention. This is why he was celebrated as a genius painter while also being regarded as an eccentric oddball throughout his life.
Influenced by Cubism, Dali showed interest in classical painters such as Velazquez and Raphael. Profoundly impacted by Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis, he became immersed in the world of the unconscious and dreams. Actively interacting with surrealist artists who sought to liberate the world of the unconscious and instinct, Dali's fame gradually rose. Surrealism, born from the ruins of the world wars, was a movement pioneered by artists who criticized the materialism brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Later, Dali forged his own independent path, separate from the surrealist group. He expressed his lifelong anxiety and madness through a unique artistic language.
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