Salvador Dalí

SALVADOR DALÍ I DOMÈNECH, (Figueras, Girona, 1904 - 1989).
"The caduceus of Mars driven by the fireball of Jupiter". 1974.
Drypoint engraving, embossing and color lithography on Arches paper, copy 92/195.
Signed and numbered in pencil.
Belonging to the series "The Conquest of the Cosmos", which consists of 12 engravings edited with the same technique.
Reference: cataloged in "Official Catalog Graphic Works, Albert Field, pg 98, figure 74-12, K.
Measurements: 75 x 55.5 cm (print); 99.5 x 70 cm (sheet). 111 x 80 cm. (frame).

Created in 1974, "The Conquest of the Cosmos" is one of Salvador Dalí's last great graphic series, in which the artist fuses his surrealist imagery with a fascination for science, quantum physics and space exploration. In these engravings, the cosmos appears as a symbolic projection of human thought, desire and creative delirium. The combination of drypoint, embossing and color lithography on Arches paper allows for a material and vibrant finish: the embossing provides sculptural relief, while the color lithography intensifies the hallmarks between planes of energy, matter and emptiness.

In "The Caduceus of Mars propelled by the fireball of Jupiter Dalí combines mythological and astronomical references. The caduceus, a classic symbol of balance and healing, becomes a dynamic axis that crosses the cosmic space, driven by an igneous sphere that alludes to Jupiter.

Internationally acclaimed following the retrospective that the MOMA in New York dedicated to him in 1941, Joan Miró has received awards such as the Grand Prizes of the Venice Biennale and the Guggenheim Foundation, the Carnegie Prize for Painting, the Gold Medals of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Fine Arts, etc. His work can currently be seen at the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona, as well as in the main contemporary art museums around the world, such as the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the MOMA in New York, the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, the National Gallery in Washington, the MNAM in Paris and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo.