On the trail of Dalí on his 119th birthday: four editions featuring the artist

This 11 May marks the 119th anniversary of the birth of one of the most influential artists of the 20th century: Salvador Dalí, an artist with ties to the history of ARTIKA through the four editions the company has produced in collaboration with the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation. What do each of these editions reveal about the way the artist looked at art and life?

Salvador Dalí is the epitome of the ground-breaking, eccentric artist groundbreaking, eccentric artist, with a life packed with explosive anecdotes and a legacy that continues to be worthy of his legend.

Dalí’s extravagance is inherent to his art. All you have to do is take a look at any of his innumerable creative expressions and you’ll be caught up in a space overflowing with ingenuity and the capacity to surprise.

At ARTIKA we are fortunate to have created four exclusive editions, now sold out, which reveal some of the facets of the Dalí universe.

Dreamer and adventurer

Dalí was inevitably attracted to Don Quixote, one of the most famous characters in world literature. The dreamlike world of the unlikely knight-errant fits in perfectly with the drawings and watercolours of the master of surrealism.

Dalí may not have confused windmills with giants or challenged armies that were actually flocks of sheep. But he was always ready to take on challenges and break the rules, without fear of ridicule or failure. The edition of Don Quijote, limited to 998 copies, features 43 prints and a study book with texts by Martín de Riquer and Montse Aguer.

Inquisitive and multifaceted

Goldsmith, sculptor and writer Benvenuto Cellini (1500 - 1571) wrote an autobiography steeped in intrigue and fanciful events, unpublished until the 18th century. It was Oscar Wilde’s favourite book.

Like Cellini, Dalí also cultivated various disciplines: apart from being a painter and sculptor, he also designed jewellery and worked as a goldsmith. Which means it could be said that Dalí, after a fashion, was also a Renaissance man. Cellini’s Autobiography, an edition of 998 copies, includes two volumes: Cellini’s Autobiography, with 52 facsimile illustrations, and a study book.

Thinker and visionary

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was a nobleman and thinker who coined the term “essay”. His ideas are based on “know thyself” as a starting point for exploring any aspect of existence in depth, with absolute freedom and no rhetorical intention.

If anything set Dalí apart, it was his boundless curiosity about subjects related to science and human nature. That is what made Montaigne a model for him to follow. Salvador Dalí was also passionate about literary creation and wrote everything from poetry to philosophical narrative. The Essays of Montaigne is an edition of 3,000 copies in two volumes: a large-format volume, with 37 illustrations, as well as a study book and a portfolio of prints.

Provocative and unique

Isidore Ducasse (1846 – 1870), Count de Lautréamont, was an obscure poet who ultimately rose to mythical status and became a harbinger of surrealism. He was only 22 years old when he wrote this work that would perplex his posthumous readers.

Dalí was also captivated by Lautréamont’s unbridled imagination, whose poems describe demonic figures, violence and rotting bodies. No one was better able to turn his most disturbing passages into images. Los Cantos de Maldoror is a limited edition of 2,998 copies that comes in a suitcase-like case with six notebooks, one for each song, as well as a study book.

Dalí is part of ARTIKA

These art books are crafted using artisan techniques and exclusive designs. They include hand-stitching, premium-quality prints and essays by the leading experts in Dalí’s art and philosophy.

The defining aspect of any ARTIKA project is that Salvador Dalí’s personality is also integrated into every element of these works.

They are unique objects that are striking for both their visual quality and original content. The artist from Empordà, who loved everything unique and unrepeatable, would have been proud of the result.