Featured Dali's Divine Comedy

I'm not rich. But, I love DALI. Probably 30 years ago I saw at auction (for the first time) a framed woodblock from The Divine Comedy. It was cheap, under $100. I didn't win. But, I looked it up, and found out about the set.

100 prints. Made by hundreds of hand carved blocks. The different versions. From what I've read, the most expensive version is the German. Which is strange, because it does not have the text. Each comes matted, and all one hundred prints have Dali's signature print block. Which turns out why it's such an expensive set.

During covid lockdown, a set which is exact to a German set, except it's in leather bound cases with Italian writing went up for auction in London. I won. It was easy. I was the only bidder. It was fairly cheap considering the value of just a few pieces. However, once the extras were added in, the price rose. The s/h was almost $600 to the US. Even with all the extras which almost doubled the price, it was still worth it.

I bought a single frame. Each month I change out the print. To say they're beautiful is an understatement. Each one looks real because of how the prints were made. You can see the levels of each color. Absolutely MAGNIFICENT.

Do these binders look familiar to anyone? This might be an Italian set. It might be a German set with Italian binders. All in all, I'm happier than a pig in...

 

There's an exhibit of the series currently playing in Toronto:
https://divinadali.com/

Here's some introductory info on the series:
https://www.parkwestgallery.com/history-salvador-dali-divine-comedy/

From this on AbeBooks:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31694904289&ref_=ps_ggl_20078904690&cm_mmc=ggl-_-COM_CA_Shopp_test-_-product_id=bi: 31694904289-_-keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAjMKqBhCgARIsAPDgWlzrteezzRp9wUrz9uctbz5juM78f71N613rzBFV9I8ljRK0WmD701saAhcKEALw_wcB

"Limited edition of 4765 copies. One of 3900 copies on pure Rives chiffon."

"100 off-text watercolors in colors by Dali, engraved on 3500 wood by Raymond Jacquet; printed by Raymond Jacquet for the illustrations and Jean-Claude Daragnès for the tex"

The presentation above is what shows up online. The description suggests that different editions were available, likely on different papers and with different presentations, from ultra-limited deluxe and on down. I don't know this for a fact, but it goes on a lot.

Some listings on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...dali+divine+comedy+woodcuts&_osacat=0&_sop=16

 

That's neat. I get to look up above my computer. This photo is HORRIBLE. The artwork is beyond excellent. This is Inferno Canto 24, The Punishment of Vanni Fucci.

 

∆ Photo bomb by @moreotherstuff !!

 

Some of those prices on ebay are outrageous, and the signatures are fake. They're still wonderful art. There's a copy of the piece I have hanging now for $4000.

I collect film star autographs and people will sell prints as signed or autographed. When in reality it's a print press signature. This one is up for $6000 and mine has the same signature on it. It's how Dali signed it when he created the art. So, it's not really signed, it's part of the printing process. The prices is about $5500 above it's real value. It not more.

 

Is there a text page with the edition number, and do the woodcut pages have watermarks?

 

There are no text pages at all. Just the prints in mats.

There are watermarks for the paper and the mats. That's why they seem like they're a German edition. They are 100% identical to what a German edition would be, except for the binders storing them.

 

Speaking as an amateur collector (definitely no expert) the absence of that page assigning an edition number would make me suspect yours is a later undocumented edition of the prints (later meaning subsequent to those French, German and Italian editions where most of the money value lies). Have you checked in the Albert Field book to see what he says about the various editions? Obviously it’s feasible that the justification page may have been lost at some time, but very unusual. Out of interest what are the watermarks and how was the set described in the London auction?

 

The auction house described it as unknown origin. I think they said 1964 Italian edition? Which is probably why I was the only bidder.

The Fields book describes my set 100% as a German edition, including the watermarks, except for the binders they're in. However, it does mention some sets from various countries being put in special leather binders.

I could be wrong, about this. I read the Fields description years ago. But, I think the leather binders were presents and not sold to the general public. I only saw one set online in leather binders, and it doesn't resemble mine at all. It was much fancier.

What matters is the art. That's magnificent. It's always nice to know what the history might be.

Reading the Fields description there are many more copies than most people think.