Dalí, Salvador. (1904–1989). Christ on the Cross, 1973 - Signed Drawing.
Drawing in green ink on paper, signed within the middle left of the image "Dali" dated 1973 lower right. In fine condition. 7.5 x 10.6 inches (19 x 27cm.).
Salvador Dalí was an enigma, perhaps never more so than in his engagement with religion, and here, with a lively and sure line, he sketches the strength and heaviness of the crucified body of Christ. Though the artist proclaimed himself ‘a Surrealist void of all moral values’ during his stay in Paris in 1929, W. Alan Smith writes that "Dalí’s attitude toward Roman Catholicism began to change as early as 1941, and his painting began to reflect an intentional dialogue with his Christian roots. During his emigration to the United States during World War II, he began to envision a fusion of Science and traditional elements of the Christian faith. The result of this mix of influences was the development of a new approach to painting and personal theology/ philosophy he branded as “Nuclear mysticism.”
Tim McNeese suggests that: ‘There was more to Dalí’s greater reliance on matters of faith than simply for metaphysical expression, however. He was turning to the Catholic Church itself. In 1949, he made the first of two visits to Rome to see Pope Pius XII. In Rome, he studied religious art closely … Teilhard de Chardin, whose ideas concerning religion fascinated Dalí, even though they were, at the time, controversial. Then, his father died in 1950. All these influences drew Dalí into the realm of the spiritual, and his paintings soon included religious subjects.’
Various claims are made for the moment of Dalí’s conversion. Michael Anthony Novak states that Salvador Dalí returned to the Catholic faith in 1949. That was when Dalí attended his first private audience with Pope Pius XII and presented the Pope with the first version of his work ‘Madonna of Port Lligat’. He then, later, announced his return to the Catholic Church. During a visit to Avila, Spain in 1950 he gained access to the journals of the16th-century Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross and viewed a sketch of the crucified Christ the saint had drawn. This experience led to what Dalí described as a ‘cosmic dream’ resulting in his famous painting ‘Christ of St. John of the Cross’.
Dalí, Salvador. (1904–1989). Christ on the Cross, 1973 - Signed Drawing.
Drawing in green ink on paper, signed within the middle left of the image "Dali" dated 1973 lower right. In fine condition. 7.5 x 10.6 inches (19 x 27cm.).
Salvador Dalí was an enigma, perhaps never more so than in his engagement with religion, and here, with a lively and sure line, he sketches the strength and heaviness of the crucified body of Christ. Though the artist proclaimed himself ‘a Surrealist void of all moral values’ during his stay in Paris in 1929, W. Alan Smith writes that "Dalí’s attitude toward Roman Catholicism began to change as early as 1941, and his painting began to reflect an intentional dialogue with his Christian roots. During his emigration to the United States during World War II, he began to envision a fusion of Science and traditional elements of the Christian faith. The result of this mix of influences was the development of a new approach to painting and personal theology/ philosophy he branded as “Nuclear mysticism.”
Tim McNeese suggests that: ‘There was more to Dalí’s greater reliance on matters of faith than simply for metaphysical expression, however. He was turning to the Catholic Church itself. In 1949, he made the first of two visits to Rome to see Pope Pius XII. In Rome, he studied religious art closely … Teilhard de Chardin, whose ideas concerning religion fascinated Dalí, even though they were, at the time, controversial. Then, his father died in 1950. All these influences drew Dalí into the realm of the spiritual, and his paintings soon included religious subjects.’
Various claims are made for the moment of Dalí’s conversion. Michael Anthony Novak states that Salvador Dalí returned to the Catholic faith in 1949. That was when Dalí attended his first private audience with Pope Pius XII and presented the Pope with the first version of his work ‘Madonna of Port Lligat’. He then, later, announced his return to the Catholic Church. During a visit to Avila, Spain in 1950 he gained access to the journals of the16th-century Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross and viewed a sketch of the crucified Christ the saint had drawn. This experience led to what Dalí described as a ‘cosmic dream’ resulting in his famous painting ‘Christ of St. John of the Cross’.